Buyout & Premium

Every place on merca.earth is always for sale. Anyone can buy it, at any time, without the owner's consent. This is not a quirk — it's the core mechanic that keeps the map alive. Places that nobody contests are cheap. Places that people fight over become expensive.

This page explains how buyouts work, where the money goes, and how the price escalates with each sale.

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Every Parcel Is Always for Sale

The protocol follows Harberger-style pricing: ownership is conditional on the price being fair. If you own a parcel, anyone can buy it from you at the current algorithmic price, at any time, without your consent.

There is no "not for sale" option. There is no way to lock a parcel against purchase. The price is set by the protocol based on area, base rate, and accumulated premium — but owners can now move it up or down directly using Bump Price and Drop Price (see below).

warning

Buyouts are instant and irreversible. If your parcel's buyout price is lower than what someone is willing to pay, they can take it immediately.

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What Happens in a Buyout

When a buyer targets your parcel and pays the buyout price, the protocol executes these steps in a single transaction:

1. The buyer pays the full buyout price.
2. The protocol splits the payment (see below).
3. The Market contract uses its TransferCap to call index::force_transfer, reassigning ownership to the buyer.
4. The parcel's premium_ppm advances to the next step on the resale ladder, and sale_count increments by one.

The seller receives their share in the same transaction. They don't need to do anything — it all happens automatically.

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The Payment Split

Every buyout payment divides into three parts:

Recipient	Share	Purpose
Seller	85%	Proceeds from the forced sale
Protocol treasury	7%	Protocol operating fund
Hierarchy tax pool	8%	Cascades up to parent parcels

The 8% hierarchy pool flows into the cascading tax system if the sold parcel has a parent at that depth. If no parent exists, it routes directly to treasury instead.

See Fees → Where the 8% Hierarchy Pool Goes for a full breakdown of how the hierarchy pool distributes across parent levels.

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The Buyout Price Formula

The buyout price at any moment is:

$$P = A \times \frac{R}{10^6} \times \frac{M}{10^6}$$

where:

• $A$ is the parcel's area in square meters
• $R$ is the level's base rate in mist per m² (stored as price_per_km2_mist / 10⁶)
• $M$ is the parcel's current premium_ppm

See Pricing → Level Tariffs for how base rates are set per level.

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How premium_ppm Works

The protocol tracks each parcel's premium as an integer called premium_ppm — parts per million. The conversion is simple:

premium_ppm value	Multiplier
1,000,000	1.0× (registration quote)
2,950,000	2.95× (stored after register)
1,150,000	1.15× (tail floor)

A registration transaction is charged at premium_ppm = 1,000,000 (1.0×). But once register succeeds, the stored PriceState immediately advances to premium_ppm = 2,950,000 with sale_count = 1. That means the first post-registration buyer already pays the first resale rung. Every later buy_full advances the parcel again.

After registration seeds the first rung, each later buy_full multiplies the current premium by the next ladder step:

$$M_{n+1} = M_n \times \frac{\text{ladder}(n+1)}{10^6}$$

where ladder(n) is the fixed RESALE_LADDER_PPM vector for sale number $n$, and any sale beyond position 64 uses the tail value of 1,150,000 (1.15×).

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The Resale Ladder

The ladder is aggressive early and tapers toward a floor. The first post-registration buyout is already priced at nearly 3× the registration quote. By the tenth resale step, each additional sale adds only about 44%. After sale 64, every subsequent sale adds a flat 15%.

The cumulative effect compounds quickly. A parcel that has changed hands five times costs roughly 2.95 × 2.18 × 1.90 × 1.74 × 1.65 ≈ 35× its original registration price. Highly contested land becomes expensive fast.

info

The ladder values are hardcoded in the Market contract and cannot be changed by governance or configuration. They are the same for every parcel at every level.

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Premium Across Geometry Operations

Not every operation that changes a parcel's shape triggers the resale ladder. The protocol handles each geometry operation differently.

buy_full

A full buyout. The parcel's premium_ppm advances one step on the resale ladder and sale_count increments. bump_price also advances the ladder — see below.

acquire_slice

One parcel captures area from a neighboring parcel. The buyer pays based on the captured area at the donor's current premium. After the operation, the receiving parcel's premium_ppm becomes the ceiling of the area-weighted average of its old premium and the donor's premium:

$$M_{\text{receiver}} = \left\lceil \frac{A_{\text{old}} \times M_{\text{receiver}} + A_{\text{captured}} \times M_{\text{donor}}}{A_{\text{new}}} \right\rceil$$

The donor's premium is unchanged. No resale-ladder escalation occurs on either side. The donor cannot refuse — compensation is automatic. See Territory Competition for strategic implications and defender protections.

rebalance_slice

Two parcels exchange area to adjust their boundary. Both parcels adopt the area-weighted average of their two premiums, using the areas before the rebalance. Both also adopt the maximum of their two sale_count values.

merge_owned

Two parcels you own merge into one. The surviving parcel adopts the area-weighted average of both premiums and the maximum of both sale_count values.

$$M_{\text{merged}} = \frac{A_1 \times M_1 + A_2 \times M_2}{A_1 + A_2}$$

expand_unclaimed

You grow your parcel into adjacent unclaimed territory. Premium is unchanged — you pay only for the added area at your current premium. No escalation.

bump_price

Owner-triggered one-step premium increase. You pay 15% of the current buyout price (7% to the protocol treasury, 8% to the hierarchy pool). The premium advances exactly one rung on the resale ladder — the same effect as a self-buy, without needing a second wallet.

drop_price

Owner-triggered one-step premium decrease. You pay 8% of the current buyout price (hierarchy pool only — no treasury cut). The premium steps back one rung. You can drop all the way to the registration base (1.0× premium) — there's no floor above what you first paid.

Operation	Premium effect	Fee
buy_full	Advances one step on resale ladder	15% (7% treasury + 8% hierarchy)
acquire_slice	Receiver: ceiling area-weighted blend; donor: unchanged	Paid on captured area
rebalance_slice	Area-weighted average of both premiums	Gas only
merge_owned	Area-weighted average	Gas only
expand_unclaimed	Unchanged	Pay for added area
bump_price	Advances one step on resale ladder	15% (7% treasury + 8% hierarchy)
drop_price	Steps back one rung (floor: 1.0×)	8% (hierarchy only)

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What This Means in Practice

If you own a place: Every sale drives the price higher. A place that's been bought and sold five times costs ~35x its registration price. If you lose it, buying it back is expensive. Keep enough SUI around to outbid attackers — or accept the risk.

If you want to buy: Check the sale count before you commit. A freshly registered place starts at 2.95x for the first buyer, but heavily traded places cost far more. The premium is visible in the parcel detail panel. See the purchase walkthrough.

If you want to grow territory: Only buy_full and bump_price escalate the premium. Expanding into unclaimed land, merging your own places, or acquiring a slice from a neighbor — none of these trigger the ladder. Grow without the resale penalty. See Territory Operations.

warning

rebalance_slice blends both premiums using an area-weighted average. If the other parcel has a much higher premium and a large area, the result will be pulled toward their premium. Check both premiums and areas before rebalancing.

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Bump Price and Drop Price

You can't refuse a buyout. But you can move your price up or down directly — no second wallet needed.

Bump Price

Bump Price raises your parcel's price by one step on the resale ladder. The fee is 15% of the current buyout price (7% to the protocol treasury, 8% to the hierarchy pool). This is the official way to defend your parcel: pay the same 15% protocol cut as a self-buy, but without the wallet gymnastics.

Bump #	You pay	Premium step gained
1st	15% of current price	×2.18 (or next ladder rung)
2nd	15% of new price	×1.90
3rd	15% of new price	×1.74
Later	15% per step	tapers toward ×1.15

Defense is most cost-effective early in the ladder, where each bump produces a large multiplier jump. Later steps add only 15–20% per bump, so the cost-per-protection-gained rises over time.

Drop Price

Drop Price lowers your parcel's price by one step. The fee is 8% of the current buyout price (hierarchy pool only — no treasury cut). You can drop all the way back to the registration base price (1.0× premium). There's no floor above what you first paid.

Use Drop Price when you want to attract a buyer, reduce your exposure, or exit at a lower price.

note

Integer division means a bump followed immediately by a drop doesn't return to exactly the same premium — each round-trip loses roughly 1 ppm. Repeated bump→drop cycles can land slightly below the starting value. This is by design: it discourages oscillation.

warning

Both operations are irreversible. Bump permanently advances the premium one rung. Drop permanently reduces it one rung.

Why the protocol benefits

Every Bump or Drop generates real revenue: Bump sends 7% to the protocol treasury and 8% to the hierarchy pool. Drop sends 8% to the hierarchy pool. Neither operation is free — both fund the ecosystem.

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Related

• Pricing → Level Tariffs — base rates per level and how area is measured
• Fees → Where the 8% Hierarchy Pool Goes — full breakdown of the hierarchy tax cascade
• Buy Land → Executing a Purchase — step-by-step guide to purchasing a parcel