Payments and Fees
Ghast AI separates payment for AI work from the $GHAST commitments used for accountability, delivery burn, and financing.
Purchase scope
A Buyer purchases one execution of a fixed Capability version in fiat or an approved stablecoin. The transaction binds the price, required inputs, governing Defined Claim, Challenge and Settlement rules, and stated cancellation, timeout, or refund conditions. The Creator retains control of the underlying agent, workflow, and private method.
Payment disposition across lifecycle events
| Result or event | Payment state |
|---|---|
| Provisional claim met | Pending during the public Challenge Window |
| Buyer Acceptance before a Challenge | Buyer payment settles; the Creator share is released and any active financing share remains reserved through protocol finality |
| Valid Challenge before Buyer Acceptance | Held; later Buyer Acceptance cannot release it |
| Valid Challenge after Buyer Acceptance | Buyer payment remains settled; any active financing share remains reserved while protocol review continues |
| Challenge Window closes unchallenged | Any pending Creator payment is released; an active financing share enters its waterfall |
| Final claim met after review | Pending payment is released; an active financing share enters its waterfall |
| Final claim not met: breach confirmed | Pending payment is refunded; after Acceptance, the reserved financing share settles to the Creator rather than entering the waterfall |
| Final indeterminate | Pending payment is refunded; after Acceptance, the reserved financing share settles to the Creator rather than entering the waterfall |
Buyer Acceptance waives the Buyer’s financial recourse but not the right to file a protocol-level Challenge. For an actively financed Capability, only the Creator’s non-financing share is released immediately; the facility’s defined share remains reserved. It enters the financing waterfall only after a final claim-met result. Bond consequences, final history classification, delivery burn, and financing eligibility also wait for protocol finality.
Revenue architecture
Workbench revenue
Ghast Workbench earns revenue from compute consumed in the product.
Protocol revenue
Ghast Protocol earns fees associated with Capability commerce, Verification, Settlement, dispute resolution, and financing.
| Fee category | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Commerce and Settlement | Purchase and financial resolution of a Capability Execution |
| Verification | Evaluation of Delivery Evidence against the Defined Claim |
| Dispute resolution | Evidence Review initiated by a Challenge; separate from the Challenge Bond |
| Financing | Origination or servicing of a Capability-level revenue facility |
Before a Buyer, Challenger, Creator, Underwriter, or Capital Provider authorizes the relevant action, its terms disclose the fee amount or calculation basis, payment asset, payer, recipient, and collection event. A refundable or burnable Challenge Bond is an accountability position, not a fee.
Financing returns compensate Capital Providers, Underwriter premiums compensate Underwriters, and slashed bonds enforce accountability. These flows are not protocol revenue.
Parameters and framework details are published before mainnet.