> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/funds-and-settlement/network-and-gas.md).

# Network and gas

CounterTrade runs on Base. Joining a battle is usually sponsored, so you need no ETH — here is when that applies, what you sign instead, and how to check the escrow contract yourself.

CounterTrade runs on **Base**, and battles are priced in **USDC**.

Every on-chain step costs a network fee, paid in ETH. In most battles you do not pay it: CounterTrade covers the fee for joining and for creating a room, and sends your payout for you afterwards. You need USDC for the entry fee and nothing else.

That is a convenience, not a promise. This page says when it applies and what happens when it doesn't.

## Joining without ETH

When a battle's join is sponsored, you don't send a transaction at all. You sign two requests in your wallet instead, and CounterTrade submits the transaction and pays for it.

The two are different things and your wallet will describe them differently:

1. **Sign 1 of 2** is your instruction to join that specific battle.
2. **Sign 2 of 2** authorises the entry fee to move from your wallet to the escrow contract, for that exact amount.

A signature moves nothing by itself. Together they let one transaction do what you asked and nothing else — it cannot take a different amount, and it cannot put you in a different battle.

You'll see `Preparing…`, then the two signing prompts, then `Sending…` and `Joining…` while the transaction confirms. Creating a room works the same way.

## When you pay the fee yourself

Sponsorship does not cover everything, and the app switches to the ordinary path without stopping you. Instead of two signatures your wallet asks you to confirm a transaction — that is the difference you'll notice.

* **Free battles and battles under 10 USDC.** Sponsorship covers entry fees from 10 USDC up. The newer escrow contracts also refuse a player-created battle below 10 USDC.
* **A new wallet's first few joins.** A wallet gets up to three covered joins before it has finished a battle. After its first finished battle the count starts again.
* **A full sponsored room.** Each room covers a limited number of seats — up to 10 by default; later joins in that room are self-paid.
* **Smart-contract wallets.** These sign differently from an ordinary wallet, and the sponsored path can't accept that signature. The app says so: *This wallet can't sign a sponsored entry, so you'll pay the network fee yourself.*
* **Busy periods.** Sponsorship is a limited resource. When it runs out for a while, joins keep working — you just pay for them.

In every one of those cases the battle, the fee, and the escrow are identical. Only who pays the network fee changes.

## Getting paid

Prizes and refunds are covered too, differently. After a battle finalizes or is cancelled, CounterTrade sends your payout and it arrives without you doing anything.

The claim button stays on the page because sending it for you can fail — a network problem, a wallet the token refuses. When a payout hasn't arrived, you claim it yourself, and that claim you pay for. The money is the same money either way. See [Claims and refunds](/docs/funds-and-settlement/claims-and-refunds.md).

## What signing in costs

Nothing. Signing in proves you hold the wallet and moves no tokens, so it has no network fee. Trading has none either — orders are simulated and never touch the chain. See [Paper trading and real money](/docs/start-here/paper-trading-and-real-money.md).

## The escrow contracts

Entry fees are held by contracts on Base, not by CounterTrade. You can read them yourself. More than one escrow holds money today: each newer version takes new battles or seasons, and an older one keeps the battles it already holds until they settle.

|                                 |                                                    |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Network                         | Base (chain id 8453)                               |
| Escrow v0.11.1                  | `0x3320084D661Ae438F2466dd6Bf771445DD4C12af`       |
| Escrow v0.12.1 (league seasons) | `0x007251723eD30E2f92B5B874C72D0365d6fc417a`       |
| Escrow v0.13.0                  | `0x3a70cF5b5Ef8CCe906969353712C7DDaE95387D8`       |
| Entry token                     | USDC, `0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913` |

The source is published and verified on the block explorer, so what runs at that address is readable line by line.

Each battle records the escrow it uses, and the app links every join, claim and refund to its transaction. If you are checking a specific battle, follow the link on its page rather than assuming one of the addresses above — that is the one that settles your money.

What the contract can and cannot do with your fee is covered in [Entry fees and escrow](/docs/funds-and-settlement/entry-fees-and-escrow.md).

## Related

* [Entry fees and escrow](/docs/funds-and-settlement/entry-fees-and-escrow.md)
* [Claims and refunds](/docs/funds-and-settlement/claims-and-refunds.md)
* [Transaction troubleshooting](/docs/funds-and-settlement/transaction-troubleshooting.md)