Auction Mechanics
Auction Mechanics
BidCoin.live is centered on a simple yet powerful idea: let participants collectively fund the total cost of an asset through incremental bid fees, which keep the “displayed price” of that asset surprisingly low.
The platform aims to purchase the asset on-chain as soon as the reserve point is reached. Once the reserve point is reached, FOMO mode kicks in, intensifying competition. Ultimately, the last bidder when the timer runs out wins, paying only the displayed price (far below the real value).
To better illustrate these mechanics, refer to the following screenshots from a live BidCoin auction:
[Caption]: A live BidCoin auction in progress. Note the low displayed price compared to the actual market price of the asset.
3.1 Dynamic Reserve Pricing
Dynamic Reserve Pricing: The reserve price is dynamic and adjusts based on the real-time market price of the asset. This only applies to assets other than USDT, as USDT is directly accumulated from bid fees. If the asset's price (e.g., BTC, ETH) increases during the auction, the reserve price (expressed in USDT) will increase accordingly. The auction will remain in the reserve phase until enough USDT fees are collected to cover the higher cost of purchasing the asset on a decentralized exchange (DEX) like Uniswap V3.
Profit from Price Decrease: If the asset's price decreases during the auction, any extra fees collected beyond the final purchase price will be considered auction profits.
3.2 Incremental Bidding
Dynamic Bid Cost: Bid cost varies per auction asset, scaled proportionally to the asset's value. (See "Bid Fee (USDT)" in Contract Information)
Displayed Price Increase: Each bid increases the displayed auction price by $0.01.
Psychological Effect: Even as many bids come in, the displayed price remains strikingly lower than the real-world asset value, generating ongoing excitement among participants.
3.3 Reserve Point & FOMO Mode
[Caption]: The Contract Information panel displays the auction contract information, a clickable link to the explorer (Arbiscan) to verify the contract assets, the rewards per phase in BID tokens, the BID fee for FOMO mode, and other key parameters of the auction.
Reserve Point Example: For a 1 BTC auction, the platform needs a certain amount of USDT to cover the cost. By then, the displayed price is only a fraction of the actual price. The reserve price will change dynamically depending on the price of BTC.
Bid Cost Scaling: Higher-value assets have proportionally higher bid costs, while maintaining a balanced number of bids needed to reach the reserve point.
FOMO Mode: As soon as fees collected reach or exceed the asset’s real cost, the auction enters an 8-hour cooldown (this cooldown period may be removed in the future as the platform matures). During FOMO mode, users can bid using USDT or burn BID tokens for free bids. At the end of this 8-hour cooldown, the auction allows for a 1 minute to expire, if anyone bids the timer is reset to 1 minute. When no further bids arrive, the last bidder wins.
3.4 Securing the Asset & Triggering the End
Asset Purchase: Once fees match/exceed the asset’s cost, BidCoin automatically purchases the asset (e.g., BTC) from its Arbitrum Uniswap V3 pool.
End-Auction Trigger: After the 8-hour cooldown and final bid, any user can trigger the end of the auction on the smart contract level. A popup message is displayed for all users to click a button to "End Auction". The user who successfully triggers the end receives a 2X reward (similar to bidding during the reserve phase).
Final Payment: The winner must pay the final displayed auction price to claim the asset. Although the displayed price is minimal, the platform has already covered the asset’s cost via collected bid fees.
3.5 Refund Mechanism
Auction Cancellation: If an auction does not reach the reserve price within the initial 30-day listing period, the auction is automatically cancelled.
Refund Eligibility: Users who participated in the cancelled auction are eligible to claim their USDT bid fees back. Refunds are not automatic; users must visit the auction page and manually claim their refund.
3.6 Bid Cost Transparency
[Caption]: The bid history logs all contributions to the auction. The flame icon indicates a bid made using burned BID tokens, and the dollar sign indicates a bid made using USDT.
Bid Cost Transparency: The specific bid cost for each auction is clearly displayed to users before they participate, ensuring full transparency about the investment required for each bid.
You can view all logs on the auction contract address, where the complete history of bids, actions, and transfers is available.
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