Who pays for indexing
A BSV-21 token only shows up in wallets once an indexer lists it. Working out who pays for that, and how much, took four attempts.
The problem
BSV-21 tokens rely on an overlay indexer to track balances. The 1Sat overlay wants a token's funding address topped up before it indexes it. If nobody pays, the token exists on chain but wallets don't show it.
Attempt one: a small pre-fund
At first the wallet sent a few thousand sats to the indexer when you minted. On 1 October we added reminders and a "Finish setting up" card for unpaid tokens, with one-tap pay under $0.10.
Attempt two: the real minimum
On 3 October we found that since 2 October the indexer lists a token only once its balance reaches a minimum of 10,000,000 sats (0.1 BSV). Our 3,000-sat pre-fund had listed nothing. So we changed minting to pay the full minimum, and showed the real figure in every quote.
Attempt three: make it optional
0.1 BSV is a lot to ask from someone minting a personal token on day one. The same day, minting stopped paying for indexing. Instead the wallet remembers your token and offers "Set up $X's room": the indexer minimum plus a bCorp fee in one transaction, with a "Not now" option.
Update, 7 Oct 2026: The bCorp fee now applies only to the token's issuer. Someone who holds a token they didn't create pays only the indexing cost (post 015).
Attempt four: say what it is
On 4 October we changed the wording: the room's indexer minimum is a prepaid deposit that the indexer draws on, not a fee that disappears. That is closer to how it works.
Empty wallets
New users have no BSV, so they could not even pay the network fee to mint their personal token. bCorp now sponsors that: if minting fails only for lack of a fee, the app asks our server for a small gift to the wallet's own address, then tries again. The user's wallet still signs its own mint. The server has a daily cap.
Credits, shelved
We also built Credits ($BCREDIT), an in-app balance for paying bCorp services. On 2 October we shelved it in every build. The code is still there, but nothing opens it. Paying directly in BSV was simpler to explain, and simpler for the stores.
Prices in dollars
One rule came out of this: prices are set and shown in US dollars, and users pay in sats at the live rate. Sats appear at payment time or as small secondary text.
What's not done
- Indexing costs are set by a third party and can change without notice, as they did on 2 October.
- A token whose room is never set up stays invisible to most wallets.
- The sponsor has a daily cap; when it runs out, new users have to fund their own fee.