> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://yvechat.gitbook.io/wp/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://yvechat.gitbook.io/wp/yve/utilities.md).

# Utilities

`$YVE` utility arrives in layers, one per roadmap era, so that each use is live before the next is introduced.

***

### Utility Layers

| Utility                    | Era         | Function                                                                                                                                  |
| -------------------------- | ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sovereign Pass**         | Engine      | Holding or staking `$YVE` unlocks the scaling tier: extended agents, team workspaces, encrypted sync, priority builds, deployment support |
| **Gateway Credits**        | Gateway     | Meters tool calls routed through YveChat-operated providers. Users supplying their own search instance or key consume none                |
| **Marketplace Settlement** | Network     | Settles paid listings and revenue share for agents, prompt packs, and MCP configurations                                                  |
| **Compute Settlement**     | Network     | Pays operators serving models to other users through the opt-in compute network                                                           |
| **Governance**             | Sovereignty | Weight over protocol parameters, emissions, treasury allocation, and marketplace policy                                                   |

***

### Value Flow

```mermaid
graph TD
    U["Users"] -->|"stake or hold"| P["Sovereign Pass"]
    U -->|"spend"| G["Gateway credits"]
    B["Builders"] -->|"list and earn"| M["Marketplace"]
    O["GPU operators"] -->|"serve and earn"| C["Compute network"]
    P --> T(("$YVE"))
    G --> T
    M --> T
    C --> T
    F["Fiat revenue"] -->|"portion recycled"| T
```

***

### Why Each Utility Holds

**Sovereign Pass** charges for software. The scaling tier delivers capability that exists independently of any model, so the pass creates demand while leaving the inference bill untouched.

**Gateway credits** meter genuine marginal cost. A search or extraction routed through a provider YveChat operates costs money to serve, and the credit covers it. A user who brings their own SearXNG instance pays nothing, which keeps the sovereign path free.

**Marketplace settlement** captures a share of the value the network creates. Builders set prices, and the protocol takes a defined share.

**Compute settlement** pays for capacity contributed by operators. Participation is opt-in on both sides, and the default configuration always keeps inference on the user's own hardware or their own provider account.

**Governance** transfers control of the parameters above to the people affected by them, which completes the position the product argues for.

***

### The Zero-Margin Boundary

{% hint style="success" %}
No `$YVE` utility touches the price of inference. A user pays their provider directly, or runs the model on hardware they own. YveChat's take on that transaction is zero, in every era, permanently.
{% endhint %}

This boundary is what makes bring-your-own-keys durable. A platform earning margin on inference has a standing incentive to route users toward the models it profits from. Removing that revenue removes the incentive.

***

### Opt-In by Construction

The compute network settles between operators and users who both choose to participate. Routing a prompt to another operator's machine changes the custody story, and that change is made deliberately, per conversation, with the destination disclosed.

The default remains what it has always been: the user's own hardware, or the user's own provider account.

***

Five utilities.

None of them priced against your thinking.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://yvechat.gitbook.io/wp/yve/utilities.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.