Technical Foundation

System Architecture

The $ZERO protocol is built on top of Solana’s high-performance infrastructure. The technical core consists of three main components:

  1. MEV Bots

    • Custom-built trading agents that monitor Solana’s mempool using Jito relays.

    • Bots are optimized for latency, profitability, and execution success.

    • Designed to identify and exploit sandwich opportunities around user swaps.

  2. Transaction Execution Layer

    • Integrates with Jito’s validator infrastructure for direct access to bundle submissions.

    • Routes through Jupiter, Solana’s largest DEX aggregator, ensuring bots can sandwich swaps across any liquidity pool.

    • Uses flash-loan-like strategies where available to maximize capital efficiency.

  3. Treasury & Reward Contracts

    • Smart contracts that receive MEV profits.

    • Automate allocation into:

      • Holder Rewards

      • Treasury Reserves

      • Operational Costs

    • On-chain proof of distribution ensures transparency and fairness.

Sandwich Mechanics on Solana

Step 1: Detection

  • Bot monitors Jito relays for pending swap transactions.

  • Identifies transactions that will impact pool prices.

Step 2: Front-Run Transaction

  • Bot sends a transaction just before the user’s swap.

  • Buys the asset that the user is about to push up in price.

Step 3: User Swap Executes

  • The original user’s transaction goes through at a slightly worse price.

Step 4: Back-Run Transaction

  • Bot instantly sells back the asset at the inflated price caused by the user’s swap.

  • Captures profit (the price difference).

Step 5: Settlement

  • Profit is transferred to the Treasury contract.

  • Failed transactions are minimized by routing bundles through Jito, which reduces the risk of being outbid.

Security and Reliability

  1. Bundle Submission

    • Using Jito bundles ensures atomic execution of the sandwich (front-run + user swap + back-run).

    • This prevents partial execution or wasted fees.

  2. Risk Management

    • Bots avoid “toxic flow” where sandwiches would result in losses (e.g., user slippage too wide).

    • Dynamic profit thresholds ensure only positive-expectation opportunities are executed.

  3. Gas Optimization

    • Solana’s fee market is efficient, but bots still optimize priority fees to stay competitive.

    • Strategies adjust in real-time based on network congestion.

Advantages of $ZERO’s Approach

  • Transparency: Unlike private MEV actors, all captured value is routed back into the $ZERO Treasury.

  • Scalability: Solana’s low-latency infrastructure enables scaling to thousands of opportunities per second.

  • Fairness: Rewards are distributed proportionally to token holders, turning MEV into a shared good.

✅ That’s Page 3: Technical Foundation.

Now I’ll move straight into Page 4: Reward Distribution, covering the smart contract modules, snapshot logic, and distribution cycles.

Reward Distribution

Treasury Flow

Every profit captured by $ZERO bots is routed into the Treasury contract. The Treasury automates allocation into three categories:

  1. Holder Rewards

    • Distributed in SOL or USDC.

    • Based on a proportional share of $ZERO holdings.

    • Rewards are either claimable via contract or automatically streamed.

  2. Treasury Reserves

    • Strengthens long-term sustainability.

    • Used to scale bot infrastructure, fund audits, and stabilize distributions during low-MEV periods.

  3. Operational Costs

    • Covers validator fees, bot maintenance, and development.

    • Kept minimal to maximize holder benefits.

Distribution Mechanics

  • Snapshots: At fixed intervals (e.g., every epoch), a snapshot of $ZERO token balances is taken.

  • Eligibility: Only wallets holding $ZERO at snapshot time are eligible for rewards.

  • Proportional Allocation: Rewards are distributed proportionally based on token holdings.

  • Claiming: Holders can claim rewards directly from the contract or through an automated claim module.

Example Allocation

  • 70% → Holder Rewards

  • 20% → Treasury Reserves

  • 10% → Operational Costs

If bots capture 100 SOL in MEV in a week:

  • 70 SOL distributed to $ZERO holders.

  • 20 SOL retained in Treasury.

  • 10 SOL used for operational expenses.

Transparency

  • All distributions are on-chain and verifiable.

  • A public dashboard will display:

    • MEV captured

    • Rewards distributed

    • Treasury balance

  • This ensures complete accountability to the community.

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