Synapse allows users to send tokens from one chain to another almost immediately by using AMMs deployed across 16+ EVM and non-EVM blockchains. 

Synapse is a cross-chain liquidity network that enables fully non-custodial transfers between EVM and non-EVM compatible chains and L2 systems. Synapse was launched in 2021.

SYN tokenholders own and govern the protocol. They currently take a cut of the transaction fees paid by the users (revenue). Synapse’s investors include CMS Holdings, Alameda Research, Primitive Ventures, etc.

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Synapse

# Synapse Fees Methodology

## 1. Overview

Synapse fees represent the total fees generated by cross-chain bridging operations on the Synapse protocol. This metric captures fees collected when users bridge assets between different blockchain networks using Synapse's cross-chain infrastructure. The calculation aggregates fees from bridge transactions across eight supported chains, converting ntoken fees to USD values using underlying asset prices, and presents the data as daily totals categorized under the 'Bridging' business line.

## 2. Data sources

The calculation relies on the following raw data sources:

- **Synapse bridge contract events**: Parsed event logs from Synapse bridge contracts deployed across Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, BSC, Ethereum, Fantom, Optimism, and Polygon networks
- **Bridge transaction events**: Specific event types including `TokenMint`, `TokenWithdraw`, `TokenMintAndSwap`, `TokenWithdrawAndRemove`, and `CircleRequestFulfilled` events that contain fee parameters
- **End-of-day token price feeds**: Daily closing prices for alternative tokens including DAI, WETH, BUSD, and FRAX used to value ntoken fees
- **Token metadata**: Hardcoded mapping data that connects Synapse ntoken addresses to their underlying alternative token addresses for pricing purposes

## 3. Step-by-step calculation

### Component A: Bridge fee event extraction
- **Purpose**: Identify and extract all cross-chain bridging transactions that generated fees across the Synapse protocol
- **Logic**: Parse bridge contract event logs across eight supported chains (Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, BSC, Ethereum, Fantom, Optimism, Polygon) to identify specific event types that indicate fee-generating bridge operations. Extract core transaction metadata including block timestamp, transaction hash, log index, contract address, and fee amount from the `fee` parameter. Filter for distinct events to avoid double-counting and maintain data quality.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` for timing, `transaction_hash` and `log_index` for unique identification, `account_address` for the bridge contract, `token` for the fee token address, `fee` for the raw fee amount

### Component B: Token address resolution
- **Purpose**: Map Synapse ntoken addresses to their underlying alternative token addresses to enable proper USD pricing
- **Logic**: Join the bridge fee events with a dimension table containing hardcoded mappings between Synapse ntokens and their underlying assets. This mapping is essential because Token Terminal's price feeds do not include direct pricing for ntokens (wrapped representations of bridged assets). For example, nUSD tokens are mapped to stablecoins like DAI, BUSD, or FRAX depending on the chain, while nETH tokens are mapped to WETH. Use left join to preserve events for tokens that don't require mapping while substituting addresses where mappings exist.
- **Key fields**: `ntoken_address` and `alternative_token_address` from the mapping table, with the final `token_address` field using the alternative address when available or falling back to the original token address

### Component C: USD conversion and standardization
- **Purpose**: Convert fee amounts from native token units to USD values with proper decimal handling
- **Logic**: Apply Token Terminal's standard USD conversion process using end-of-day price feeds for the resolved token addresses. Correct for token decimal places to ensure accurate value calculation and convert amounts to USD using the appropriate daily closing prices. This step ensures all fees are expressed in a common currency for aggregation and comparison.
- **Key fields**: `fees` field containing the USD-converted fee amount with proper decimal correction applied

### Final aggregation
- **Combining components**: Sum all USD-converted fees by day, chain, and other business dimensions to create daily totals for each supported network
- **Currency conversion**: USD conversion occurs using end-of-day price feeds for the alternative tokens that correspond to the ntokens, ensuring consistent pricing methodology
- **Time aggregation**: Daily boundaries are established using timestamp truncation to the day level, creating consistent time-series data points
- **Final calculation**: The metric value represents the total daily fees generated by Synapse bridge operations across all supported chains, expressed in USD, with business classification as 'Bridging' business line, 'bridges' market sector, and 'amm' business segment. Missing data points are filled with zeros using the fill_zeros strategy to maintain complete time series.

*This methodology was automatically generated by Token Terminal's methodology analyzer.*

Total value users pay to use a protocol (gross fees, user-paid fees).

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