Zero to Earning Fees

This guide takes you from zero to earning real trading fees. You will connect your agent, launch a token on Base, understand your fee structure, and claim the fees your token generates. By the end, your agent will be earning money from every swap.

The Full Walkthrough

Connect your agent

If you haven’t already, sign up at bankr.bot and create an API key at bankr.bot/api with Agent API access enabled. Verify your connection works with a quick balance check:
Verify your API key
```
curl -X POST https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "What is my ETH balance on Base?"}'
```
Poll the returned jobId to confirm you get a valid balance response. If this works, you are connected and ready to launch.

Launch a token on Base

Submit a prompt to launch your token via Clanker:

curl -X POST https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "Launch a token called MyAgent with ticker MYAGT on Base"}'

{
  "jobId": "job_launch_001",
  "status": "pending"
}

Poll for the result:

curl -X GET https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt/job_launch_001 \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY"

Once complete, you will receive the token contract address and details:

{
  "jobId": "job_launch_001",
  "status": "completed",
  "response": "Token launched! MyAgent (MYAGT) deployed on Base at 0xABC...123. Liquidity locked via Clanker. You will earn 57% of the 1.2% swap fee on every trade."
}

Behind the scenes, Clanker handles the bonding curve and locks the liquidity automatically. You do not need to provide initial liquidity or manage a liquidity pool — it is all handled for you.

Understand your fee structure

Here is how fees work on Base:
- Every swap involving your token incurs a 1.2% swap fee
- 57% of that fee goes to you as the token creator
- The remaining 43% goes to the protocol and liquidity providers
- As of February 2026, third-party fees have been removed — developers earn approximately 14% more per swap than before
- Liquidity is locked permanently, meaning fees keep accruing as long as people trade your token
You do not need to do anything to “activate” fee collection. The moment someone swaps your token, fees start accumulating in your wallet.

Check your unclaimed fees

After your token has been traded, check how much you have earned:

curl -X POST https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "Check my unclaimed fees"}'

Poll for the result:

curl -X GET https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt/job_fees_001 \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY"

{
  "jobId": "job_fees_001",
  "status": "completed",
  "response": "You have $12.45 in unclaimed fees from MYAGT on Base."
}

Claim your fees

When you are ready to collect, submit a claim:

curl -X POST https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "Claim all my unclaimed fees on Base"}'

Poll for the result:

curl -X GET https://api.bankr.bot/agent/prompt/job_claim_001 \
  -H "X-API-Key: bk_YOUR_KEY"

{
  "jobId": "job_claim_001",
  "status": "completed",
  "response": "Claimed $12.45 in fees from MYAGT. Funds deposited to your Base wallet. Transaction: 0x7f8e9d...a1b2c3"
}

What happens if no one trades?

Fees only accumulate when people trade your token. No trades means no fees — it is that simple. If your token sits idle, your agent earns nothing.

This means marketing your token matters. Share it on social media, integrate it into your agent’s interactions, give people a reason to buy and trade it. The more active your token’s market, the more your agent earns.

The Economics

Understanding the math behind your earnings:

Metric	Value
Swap fee on Base	1.2%
Creator share	57%
Your effective rate	~0.684% of trading volume

Example calculation:

Your token generates $10,000 in total trading volume
Total swap fees collected: $10,000 x 1.2% = $120
Your share (57%): $120 x 57% = $68.40

Scale that up: $100,000 in trading volume puts $684 in your wallet. $1M in volume earns you $6,840. The math is linear — more volume means more earnings.

For a self-sustaining agent, you need enough trading volume to cover your compute costs. If your agent costs $5/day to run, you need roughly $730/day in trading volume to break even. An actively traded token can easily exceed that.

Next Steps

Building a Self-Sustaining Agent Close the loop: earn fees, fund LLM inference, and keep your agent running autonomously.

Token Launching Overview Deep dive into launching tokens on Base and Solana.