Merces and Mercery
Status: Built, runs on simulatorStatus: Built, runs on simulatorStatus: Built, runs on simulator
Merces is the product and protocol; Mercery is the mechanism of issuing, verifying, paying and buying back.
The names describe different things. An issuer uses Merces to create a series. The income claim is divided into Human Equity Units; a unit is part of that series, not a separate person or company.
Four verbs, one mechanism
| Verb | What it describes |
|---|---|
| Issue | Set terms and offer units to backers. |
| Verify | Submit evidence and a proof for the income-based payment calculation. |
| Pay | Move the amount due through the protocol so holders can claim their payouts. |
| Buy back | The issuer uses the protocol's redemption path, subject to its conditions. |
These verbs describe a mechanism, not four actions that always happen together. Reporting can produce nothing due. A buy-back is an issuer action with conditions, not an automatic date on a calendar.
Follow the record
For example, an Example issuer creates one series. A backer receives units from that series. Later, an accepted report says what payment is due for that series. A payout and a buy-back refer to the same series record. The word “Mercery” names this connected process; it does not name another token.
The reader-facing words are deliberately specific. The threshold belongs to the income calculation. The cap limits the gross payment counted per unit. A payment can be below that ceiling for the whole life of the series.
Programme and product
Humanathon is a programme run by Merces. Its competition rules are separate from protocol behaviour. A programme rule marked planned does not become a software rule merely because a participant may later raise through Merces. What Humanathon is explains the programme.
What the other side sees
Payment amounts are public onchain. Eligible backers can read the threshold and share rate through the backend's controlled access. Hardship reasons go to the chosen attestor, not to backers. The words “verify” and “proof” do not mean that every fact about an issuer becomes public.
Use What is Merces? for the product introduction and the glossary for exact definitions.
What can go wrong
A short name can hide important conditions. Buying a unit is not a promise of a particular payout, and a buy-back requires the issuer to meet the protocol's conditions. The local software and the eventual legal agreement must be reviewed separately.