Credit Swaps: Building Multi-Currency Economies

Most applications start with a single credit type. But as your platform grows, you may need multiple currencies – compute credits, storage credits, premium tokens. Credit swaps let users exchange between these types, creating a dynamic internal economy.

Why Multiple Credit Types?

Use Cases

• AI Platform: Separate credits for text generation, image creation, and embeddings
• Gaming: Gold coins, gems, and energy tokens with different acquisition paths
• Marketplace: Seller credits, buyer credits, and promotional tokens
• SaaS: API credits, storage credits, and support tokens

Benefits

1. Granular pricing – charge differently for different resource types
2. Promotional flexibility – give free credits for one type without affecting others
3. Revenue optimization – premium credit types can have higher margins
4. User choice – let users allocate resources to what matters to them

Setting Up Swap Pairs

Create Your Credit Types

First, define the credit types you'll support:

const creditTypes = [
  { name: "Compute Credits", symbol: "CC", exchange_rate: 0.01 },
  { name: "Storage Credits", symbol: "SC", exchange_rate: 0.005 },
  { name: "Premium Tokens", symbol: "PT", exchange_rate: 0.05 }
];

Configure Swap Pairs

Create swap pairs in Dashboard → Swaps: pick the source and target credit types, the exchange rate, an optional fee, minimum and maximum amounts, and whether the pair works in both directions. Your app then discovers them through the API:

const listSwapPairs = async (sourceType) => {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://eutdgemlrpvnxfkkpvlu.supabase.co/functions/v1/credits-api/swap-pairs?source_credit_type_id=${sourceType}`,
    {
      headers: { 'x-api-key': process.env.CRED_API_KEY }
    }
  );
  const { swap_pairs } = await response.json();
  return swap_pairs;
  // [{ id, exchange_rate, fee_percent, min_swap_amount, max_swap_amount, is_bidirectional, ... }]
};

Exchange Rate Types

Type	Description	Best For
Fixed	Constant rate (e.g., 1:2)	Stable, predictable economies
Dynamic	Rates adjust based on supply/demand	Gaming, marketplaces

Executing Swaps

Basic Swap

const executeSwap = async (userId, swapPairId, sourceAmount) => {
  const response = await fetch(
    'https://eutdgemlrpvnxfkkpvlu.supabase.co/functions/v1/credits-api/swap',
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'x-api-key': process.env.CRED_API_KEY
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        user_id: userId,
        swap_pair_id: swapPairId,
        source_amount: sourceAmount
      })
    }
  );
  return response.json();
  // { success: true, source_amount: 100, target_amount: 195, exchange_rate: 2, fee_amount: 5, ... }
};;

Preview Swap (Get Quote)

Let users see what they'll receive before confirming:

// No API call needed: the pair from GET /swap-pairs has everything
const previewSwap = (pair, sourceAmount) => {
  const gross = sourceAmount * pair.exchange_rate;
  const fee = gross * (pair.fee_percent / 100);
  return { you_receive: gross - fee, fee_amount: fee };
  // previewSwap({ exchange_rate: 2, fee_percent: 2.5 }, 100)
  // → { you_receive: 195, fee_amount: 5 }
};;

Designing Your Economy

Setting Exchange Rates

Consider the real cost behind each credit type:

Compute Credits: $0.01 each (backed by GPU costs)
Storage Credits: $0.005 each (backed by disk costs)
Exchange rate: 1 CC = 2 SC (reflecting cost ratio)

Swap Fees

Fees serve multiple purposes:

• Revenue generation: Earn on every swap transaction
• Economy stabilization: Discourage excessive arbitrage
• Behavioral nudging: Higher fees on premium→basic swaps

Recommended Fee Ranges

Swap Direction	Fee	Reasoning
Basic → Basic	1-3%	Encourage flexibility
Basic → Premium	3-5%	Moderate friction
Premium → Basic	5-10%	Discourage downgrading

Building a Swap UI

Key Components

1. Source selector: Choose which credits to swap from
2. Amount input: How many credits to swap
3. Rate display: Show the current exchange rate
4. Fee breakdown: Transparent fee calculation
5. Target preview: Show expected received amount
6. Confirm button: Execute the swap

UX Best Practices

• Show real-time balance updates
• Display the exchange rate prominently
• Warn when swapping will deplete a balance
• Add a confirmation step for large swaps
• Show transaction history for past swaps

Monitoring Your Economy

Track these metrics to keep your economy healthy:

1. Swap volume: Total swaps per day/week
2. Popular pairs: Which swaps happen most
3. Fee revenue: Income from swap fees
4. Balance distribution: How users allocate across types
5. Arbitrage detection: Unusual circular swap patterns

Conclusion

Credit swaps transform a simple credit system into a rich, flexible economy. By letting users exchange between credit types, you create a more engaging platform while generating additional revenue through swap fees.

Set up your first swap pair in the dashboard.