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Lit Protocol uses a token-based payment system to ensure the decentralized network can sustain itself for providing cryptographic services.

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How Network Usage Payments Work

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Token Deposit System

To use Lit Protocol’s services, you must first load tokens into the Ledger Contract on Lit Chain. This contract acts as a prepaid account that holds your $LITKEY tokens and automatically deducts fees as you use the network.

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Dynamic Pricing Model

Lit Protocol uses a dynamic pricing model that adjusts based on network usage:
  • Base Price: The minimum price for each service when the network has low usage
  • Max Price: The maximum price when the network is at full capacity
  • Current Price: The actual price at any given moment, which fluctuates between the base and max price based on current network usage
This pricing mechanism ensures:
  • Fair pricing during low-usage periods (you pay less when demand is low)
  • Network stability during high-usage periods (prices increase to manage demand)
  • Market price discovery for Lit network capacity

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Pricing in $LITKEY Tokens

All services on Lit Protocol are priced in $LITKEY tokens, the native token of Lit Chain. When you use network services such as:
  • PKP Signing: Generating signatures with your Programmable Key Pair
  • Decryption and Access Control: Decrypting data and enforcing access control conditions
  • Lit Actions: Executing serverless JavaScript functions
  • Sign Session Key: Session-based signing operations
The network automatically deducts the appropriate amount of $LITKEY tokens from your ledger balance based on the current dynamic price.

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Automatic Deduction

When you make a request to the network, the system:
  1. Checks your ledger balance
  2. Calculates the current price for the requested service
  3. Deducts the required tokens from your balance
  4. Processes your request
If your balance is insufficient, the request will fail. You can check your balance and deposit more tokens as needed using the Payment Manager.

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Getting Started

To start using Lit Protocol’s paid services:
  1. Acquire $LITKEY tokens - Get tokens from exchanges or other sources
  2. Set up Payment Manager - Configure your payment system using the Payment Manager Setup Guide
  3. Deposit tokens - Load tokens into the ledger contract
  4. Use the network - Start making requests; tokens will be deducted automatically
For detailed information on current pricing, see the Current Prices page.

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Additional Costs

There are additional costs associated with using Lit Protocol’s services that are not covered by the network usage payments. These include:
  • Gas on Lit Chain - Lit Chain is the database for Lit network. When you make a transaction on Lit Chain, you will need to pay for the gas used by the transaction. Examples of operations that would require a transaction on Lit Chain are things like changing PKP Permissions, transferring PKPs, and launching smart contracts on Lit Chain. Lit Chain gas is priced in $LITKEY tokens and the gas price is very low compared to other chains.
  • PKP Minting - When you mint a new PKP, you will need to pay a specific fee for the minting operation. This fee is not dynamic and is a fixed cost. Check out the Current Prices page to see the price right now.