products
Wick AMM
what is wAMM
wAMM (Wick AMM) organizes liquidity into discrete price bins. Each bin trades at a fixed price, so swaps within a bin have zero price impact. Capital concentrates where trading actually happens.
For traders, that means predictable execution at each price level. For LPs, it means choosing not just a price range but a liquidity shape: how capital is distributed across bins.
Traditional V2 pairs spread capital across every possible price. DLMM concentrates liquidity around the active price, similar to orderbook depth, while staying fully on-chain. wAMM offers both: DLMM pools for concentrated positions and full-range pairs for set-and-forget liquidity.
how wAMM works
wAMM uses DLMM as the base layer for active markets on Lighter EVM. LPs deploy liquidity into bins with preset or custom shapes; traders get deeper execution near the active bin; Wick adds dynamic fees and Wick arbitrage (MEV internalization) on top.
Swap fees compound automatically into your position, unlike Uniswap V3, which has a separate claim step.
Fees adjust based on market conditions to provide maximum protection for liquidity providers while capturing the highest possible trading fees. Volatile markets charge more for trading against liquidity; in calmer markets, fees stay competitive.
Wick also extends the pool with additional features. Hooks add on-chain limit orders and options that settle directly from bins. On the UI side, Paint lets LPs draw any custom distribution across bins, and the orderbook view renders that bin liquidity as familiar bid/ask depth.
orderbook view
Wick presents AMM liquidity in an orderbook view. Instead of reasoning only in bins, the interface shows bid and ask depth across price levels, the way many traders already think about markets.
Each visible level maps to one or more bins. Depth below spot represents liquidity that buys the base token as price falls; depth above spot represents liquidity that sells the base token as price rises. With DLMM's discrete bins, this mapping is especially natural.
Combined with limit orders, wAMM liquidity provision feels like a traditional CEX orderbook.
how bins work
Bins are the price grid of a DLMM pool. Each bin is a single fixed price point. Consecutive bins are spaced by the pool's bin step, a percentage gap set at pool creation:
price_n = price_{n-1} × (1 + binStep / 10_000)
Example: a 1 bp bin step on a USDC/LIT pool at $1.70 gives next bins at $1.7002, $1.7003, and so on. Smaller steps suit stable or correlated pools; larger steps suit volatile pools with fewer bin crossings per swap.
bin step tiers
Wick pools are identified by bin step. Values below describe price granularity and typical pool fit; actual swap fees are dynamic.
| Bin Step | Approximate Base Fee | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bp | ~0.01% | Stables · pegged · LSTs |
| 5 bp | ~0.025% | Correlated pairs |
| 10 bp | ~0.05% | Standard |
| 50 bp | ~0.30% | Volatile |
| 100 bp | ~1% | Highly volatile |
| 200 bp | ~2% | Extremely volatile |
dynamic fees on top
The base fee column is an approximate starting point. Wick's dynamic fee algorithm adjusts the actual fee in real time based on market conditions and volume, using two fee layers: one reactive, one predictive.
active bin
The active bin is the bin at the current market price, the only bin swapping and earning fees at any moment. Your position provides active liquidity only while the pool price stays inside the bins where you deployed liquidity.
competitive farming
Tighter bins and more focused shapes earn more swap fees per dollar deployed while price stays in your bins. LP incentives can layer on top to reward productive liquidity.
LP A
Wide
15%APR
$500,000
~1x
LP B
Focused
95%APR
$100,000
~10x
LP C
Tight
340%APR
$25,000
~170x
Fee Distribution
liquidity shapes
A liquidity shape is how capital is distributed across bins in your price range. Wick supports four deployment modes.
Spot
Uniform liquidity across every bin in the price range, with optional emphasis around the active bin for tighter spot exposure. Versatile and straightforward, and the closest preset to a wide passive position. Good default when you want lower rebalancing frequency.
Curve
Bell-curve distribution centered on the active bin. Maximizes capital efficiency near spot while tapering toward the edges of the price range. Best for stables and pools that stay near peg.
Bid-Ask
Inverse curve: capital weighted toward both ends of the price range. Captures larger volatility swings away from spot. Can deploy single-sided for DCA in or out strategies.
Paint
Paint is a Wick-only feature, not a generic DLMM preset. While Spot, Curve, and Bid-Ask cover common deployment patterns, real strategies often need asymmetric ladders, stepped DCA bands, or custom volatility assumptions that no preset can express.
In Paint mode you draw any free-form line across the bin chart. On release, Wick snaps your stroke into discrete bin heights and deploys liquidity to match the curve. The same price range, fee tier, and autocompounding behavior apply as with presets; only the distribution is custom.
Use Paint when you want fine-grained control: laddered entries above or below spot, a fat tail on one side of the price range, or a hand-tuned mix of spot and bid-ask behavior in a single position. You can redraw before confirming deployment to iterate on the shape without leaving the LP flow.
Draw any free-form line across the chart · release to snap into bins
choosing a shape
- Stable pools → Curve or a tighter spot position.
- Volatile pools you actively manage → Bid-Ask or Paint.
If you cannot monitor the position, use a wider spot position or consider full range.
range orders
In orderbooks, anyone can set a limit order to buy or sell at a predetermined price, with the order filled at some future time. On wAMM, you can approximate a limit order by depositing a single asset into bins across a chosen price range. Like traditional limit orders, range orders execute when the spot price crosses every bin in the order.
fee earnings while waiting
Unlike traditional limit orders that may incur fees, range order makers earn swap fees while the order is being filled. This is because the range order is technically a form of liquidity provisioning rather than a swap.
Drag your LP range, then press Play
For example, let's say the current price of LIT is $1.70.
| take-profit order | buy limit order |
|---|---|
| You want to sell your LIT when the price reaches $1.80. The bins above the spot price hold LIT. You deposit LIT into the $1.80–$1.81 bins, and the order fills when the spot price crosses them. | You expect LIT to rebound if it drops to $1.55. You deposit USDC into the $1.55–$1.56 bins, and the order fills if the spot price falls through them. |
reversal risk
Unlike traditional limit orders, range orders can become unfilled if the spot price crosses your bins and then reverses before you withdraw the target asset. While you earn LP fees during this time, fewer bins (a tighter price range) is essential if the goal is to exit fully in the destination asset. Limit orders below solve this.
hooks
hooks are optional contracts linked to a pool that run extra logic when swaps or liquidity updates happen. Wick uses them for auto-withdrawing limit orders and options built directly on wAMM pools.
limit orders
Wick is developing auto-withdrawing range orders that solve the reversal risk problem. When a swapper's trade pushes your position fully out of range, hooks withdraw the filled order for you on that same swap, with no manual step and no reversal window. For example, place a single-sided buy at $1.60 on LIT/USDC; when a swap crosses that level and fills your order, the hook pulls the position out automatically.
options
Wick also uses hooks for wAMM options anchored at a strike. You deploy liquidity in a liquidity shape around the strike (downside wing, upside wing, concentration at the strike), and the hook settles the position against a programmed rule when your exit condition is met, similar to auto-withdrawing range orders above.
Calls and puts, on bins. Think of it like insurance on where price ends up, implemented as a liquidity shape plus hook rules, not a separate options order book.
- Call-like: you earn swap fees while spot trades through your bins; at settlement, you benefit if spot finishes above the strike.
- Put-like: the mirror layout; you benefit if spot finishes below the strike.
Unlike a traditional option, the position can earn swap fees while it waits. There is no separate options chain. Intermediate bin crossings still incur path cost (the same repricing cost as LVR), but hook settlement fixes payoff from the endpoint versus the strike, not from the path. See wAMM options intuition.
Calls benefit when spot finishes above the strike.
full range
Prior to concentrated liquidity, Uniswap v2 pairs were the standard for DeFi liquidity. Wick still implements these traditional pairs alongside DLMM pools for LPs who prefer passive, set-and-forget management.
when to use full range
Full-range pairs distribute liquidity across all prices with no rebalancing. Unlike DLMM positions that require active price range and shape selection, full-range pairs are always in range and always earning fees. Both DLMM pools and full-range pairs use auto-compounding for swap fees and dynamic fees. Choose full range when you want set-and-forget liquidity or stable/correlated assets where the optimized stable curve minimizes slippage.
pair types
Wick features two pair types:
- Volatile (Uni V2): equal dollar-weighted tokens using
x * y = k. - Stable (Correlated): optimized for pegged or correlated assets using
xy(x² + y²) = k, with minimal slippage near parity.
speaking of swap fees!
Typical full-range fees vary by pair type: volatile (0.2–2%), correlated (0.001%–0.03%), and native (1%–3%), adjusting dynamically within these ranges based on market conditions. The theoretical bounds are 0.01%–50.00% (0.01–5000 bps).
dynamic fees
overview
Wick replaces static fee tiers with a dynamic fee algorithm that adjusts in real time based on market conditions. LPs are protected during volatile periods; traders get better execution when markets are calm.
The cost of providing liquidity is not constant. It rises when markets move quickly, toxic flow is more likely, and LPs face more adverse selection. It falls when conditions are calm and flow is mostly organic. Fees should reflect the cost of providing liquidity at any given moment. On wAMM pools, fees compound automatically into positions, with the fee level set by fee-to-volatility targeting.
how it works
Wick's algorithm adjusts fees continuously to match the cost of providing liquidity, widening when risk rises, compressing when markets calm.
fee-volatility mismatch
LP risk moves with the market. A static fee line can't follow it; a dynamic fee can.
Static fee tiers charge the same rate whether the market is crashing or trading sideways. The result is the same fee-volatility mismatch in both directions: LPs are underpaid when risk is high and traders are overcharged when it isn't.
Wick's algorithm tracks volatility live and closes this gap continuously.
Wick vs static fee
Wick monitors DEX and CEX feeds to price risk before arbitrage arrives, adjusting fees continuously. Residual spread the fee barrier does not catch is recovered through Wick arbitrage at 0% internal pool fee.
The chart below compares Wick against fixed 0.30% and 1.00% tiers over 24 hours. Fees compress during calm windows and spike when volatility hits:
Wick fee vs static tiers over 24 hours
Traders pay less when markets are calm; LPs earn more protection when volatility hits. A static tier can't do both at once.
fee response
The comparison above is a daily snapshot. In practice, Wick adjusts continuously, widening the no-arb band as volatility rises and narrowing it as conditions stabilize. Spike and decay speed is tuned per pool category.
no-arbitrage band responds to volatility
market response
When volatility spikes, fees ramp to protect LPs from toxic flow, reclaiming 86–95% of value that would otherwise be extracted. When markets are calm, fees compress to stay competitive and capture organic volume.
predictive, not just reactive
Wick uses a predictive fee model: unlike systems that only react to internal pool metrics, Wick monitors external CEX and DEX feeds (prices, cross-venue volume, on-chain signals) and runs adjustments as frequently as every second. When a CEX move signals the pool is about to become a target, fees are already elevated by the time toxic flow hits.
On wAMM pools, fees also adjust reactively when swaps cross bins, stacking on top of the predictive layer.
What higher fees actually do is shift who gets paid when prices move, not whether arbitrage happens. They don't reduce how much total value arbitrage pulls out of a pool over a trading window. They shift the split: a larger slice comes back to the LP as fee revenue, a smaller slice gets kept by the arbitrageur. That is why Wick talks about "recapture" rather than "reduction". The share-not-total result is worked through on the concepts page.
Wick targets a fee-to-volatility ratio of roughly 10:1: the swap fee is about ten times the typical per-block price move, so LPs recover most of what would otherwise leak to arbitrageurs.
fee ranges
Every pool operates between two bounds: a base fee floor and a fee cap. The floor scales with the pool's bin step, and the cap is set per pool category, so a tight stablecoin pool and a volatile token pool run very different ranges. The algorithm moves continuously between its pool's bounds based on real-time signals, combining the floor with the volatility surcharge.
base fees are not fixed fees
Even the base fee is dynamic. It represents the floor, not a constant. The actual fee at any moment depends on the algorithm's assessment of current market risk.
Wick tunes spike and decay behavior per pool category:
volatile pools
Pools like LIT/USDC or BTC/USDC experience sharp, frequent price movements. The algorithm uses aggressive scaling: fees ramp up quickly at the first sign of volatility and decay at a controlled rate to avoid premature relaxation.
stable pools
Stablecoin pools (USDC/USDT, DAI/USDC) trade in tight ranges with rare depegs. The algorithm uses tight ranges around the base fee, only spiking during genuine depeg events. This keeps fees low during normal operation, making Wick competitive for stablecoin routing.
LST pools (wLIT/LIT) share the same low-fee baseline during normal exchange-rate accrual. When redemption carries a known cost (a flat fee, a cooldown window, etc.), the pool fee matches that economics so swapping is not the cheaper exit. Without that alignment, holders drain LP instead of redeeming. Genuine volatility (liquidity stress, depeg risk) still triggers a fee spike; toggle to LST on the chart to see redeem-cost matching vs a real vol event.
LP protection
An LP position leaks value when the pool is slow to reprice against external markets. Arbitrageurs buy the underpriced side, sell the overpriced side, and keep the spread. Wick cannot remove the directional risk of a two-sided LP position, but dynamic fees reduce how much value leaks to arbitrageurs when prices move.
Each arbitrage event splits into fee revenue for LPs and profit kept by the arbitrageur. The dynamic fee algorithm is tuned to keep that split as favorable as possible, reclaiming 86–95% of that value during normal trading when volatility is priced correctly.
fees redistribute, they don't reduce
Dynamic fees are the first line of defense. The value lost past the fee barrier is recovered by Wick arbitrage. For the formal split and fee-to-volatility math, see fee-arb decomposition and recapture, not reduction.
Discrete bin pricing on wAMM pools also returns more of each move to LPs as fees.