CIP-Draft: CoW Swap Affiliate Program Framework

Governance
1

CIP: Draft
title: CoW Swap Affiliate Program Framework
status: Draft
created: 2026-02-19

Simple Summary

This proposal launches a CoW Swap Affiliate Program that rewards (i) Affiliates who refer new retail traders and (ii) those referred Traders, when referred wallets generate qualifying CoW Swap trading volume. The CIP also establishes a flexible governance mandate: Program Managers may calibrate key parameters (eligibility rules, reward rate, exclusions, caps) within a DAO-approved envelope during the term of the program, with strict reporting and guardrails.

Motivation

CoW Swap grows through distribution: creators, communities, publishers, and partner channels that can drive high-quality retail adoption. A standardised affiliate/referral program can:

  • Increase user acquisition and retention with measurable performance;

  • Create a scalable “always-on” incentive mechanism (not one-off deals);

  • Maintain protocol integrity by controlling abuse and ensuring incentives remain economically rational.

Incentive programs require iteration. This CIP avoids governance fatigue by allowing changes within predefined bounds, while retaining DAO control through a hard budget cap, transparent reporting, and a clear stop mechanism.

Specification

1) Roles and definitions

Participants

  • Affiliate: a participant who generates a referral link and/or referral code tied to the Affiliate’s wallet and distributes it through their channels.

  • Trader: a wallet that uses an Affiliate’s referral link/code and then trades on CoW Swap.

  • Program Managers: the team responsible for running the program, setting parameters within the envelope, monitoring abuse, and executing payouts.

Key concepts

  • Referral link / code: a unique, wallet-tied link and/or code used for attribution.

  • Wallet attribution: once a Trader uses a code and completes the required activation step, that Trader wallet becomes attributable to the Affiliate for a limited time window.

  • Qualifying volume: volume counted for rewards under a defined methodology and subject to exclusions (e.g., low-fee pairs, disallowed categories, suspected wash-trading).

2) Rewards, caps, and payout mechanics (initial setting)

Initial reward structure

  • Rewards are paid in USDC.

  • Rewards are earned when a referred Trader wallet reaches cumulative qualifying volume milestones.

  • Both Affiliate and Trader may receive rewards at each milestone, subject to the calibration envelope.

Initial parameters

  • Attribution time window: 90 days per referred Trader wallet.

  • Maximum rewardable volume per referred wallet: 50,000,000 USDC equivalent.

  • New-wallet requirement: referred wallets must be new to CoW Swap (no prior trading history on CoW Swap), unless Program Managers adjust within the envelope.

  • Qualifying swap requirement: exclude swaps that are economically non-meaningful for CoW Swap or that do not meet a minimum protocol-fee threshold.

Payout operations

  • Payout frequency: weekly.

  • Distribution method: Batch transfers to eligible recipients based on program accounting.

  • Chains: default is Ethereum Mainnet; additional chains may be supported if operationally feasible.

3) Governance-approved flexibility: the “Parameter Envelope”

Program Managers may adjust program parameters without a new CIP provided adjustments remain within this envelope, are publicly disclosed, and adhere to guardrails.

Mandatory governance process for any in-envelope change

  1. Publish a forum update within 72 hours of the change going live.

  2. Provide a short rationale and reference data (dashboard metrics).

  3. Confirm the change stays within the envelope and budget.

Parameters adjustable within the envelope

  1. Reward curve

  • Reward per milestone per recipient: 1–100 USDC (default 10 USDC)

  • Milestone volume: 10,000–1000,000 USDC (default 500,000 USDC)

  • Reward curve may be linear or tiered, but must be deterministic and publicly documented.

  1. Split between Affiliate / Trader
  • Program Managers may alter the split and may set Trader or Affiliate rewards to zero for certain campaigns.
  1. Attribution time window
  • Unlimited number of days (default 90).
  1. Maximum rewardable volume per referred wallet
  • 1,000,000–1,000,000,000 USDC (default 50,000,000).
  1. Eligibility

  • “New-wallet only” may be tightened or relaxed to “new-to-CoW Swap within X months,” within the pilot term.

  • Additional eligibility constraints may be introduced (e.g., min number of trades, min distinct days traded) to mitigate abuse, provided they are transparent.

  • Program Managers can place any additional restrictions on Trader eligibility as they see fit.

  1. Qualifying volume exclusions

  • Program Managers may refine exclusions (e.g., low-fee pairs, certain stable-stable swaps, suspected self-trading patterns, tokens/pairs used to farm incentives).

  • A minimum economic-signal requirement must remain in place (e.g., minimum fee threshold or equivalent).

  1. Premium tiers / campaign links
  • Program Managers may create premium tiers or special campaign links/codes with distinct in-envelope parameters for high-quality partners (publishers, wallets, communities), including time-limited offers.

Any change outside the envelope requires a new CIP.

4) Profitability and abuse guardrails

Self-funding objective
The program should aim to be self-funding (or near break-even) based on attributable protocol revenue.

Abuse controls
Program Managers must make best effort to enforce anti-abuse rules including (non-exhaustive):

  • No self-referrals or circular referral schemes;

  • No sybil farming (multiple wallets controlled by one party);

  • No wash trading or artificial volume generation;

  • No spam, misleading marketing, or “investment promise” language;

  • Right to disqualify participants, deny unpaid rewards, and pause payouts when fraud is suspected.

5) Budget, term, reporting, and stop conditions

Program term

  • 6 months from launch date. Renewal or material expansion requires a new CIP.

Budget

  • Total incentives cap: up to 500,000 USDC (hard cap).

Reporting

  • 6 months report: aggregate stats + amount paid + payout transaction link(s) + key changes (if any).

Pause / termination
Program Managers may:

  • Immediately pause link/code creation, redemption, and/or payouts in case of abuse, critical bugs, or material economic deviation, with a forum notice within 48 hours.

  • Terminate the program early if continuing would likely cause material harm (e.g., persistent farming) and publish a final accounting.

Rationale

This CIP balances:

  • Speed and iteration (in-envelope calibration),

  • DAO accountability (budget cap, reporting, stop conditions),

  • Protocol integrity (anti-abuse and qualifying-volume exclusions),

  • Operational feasibility (weekly batching, simple link/code attribution).

Execution

Safe Transaction Data

If the DAO approves this CIP the funds from the reward will be diverted from protocol revenue and transferred to eligible recipients under this mandate.

Transaction

- From: Protocol Fee Safe (0x22af3D38E50ddedeb7C47f36faB321eC3Bb72A76)

- To: [TBD]

- Asset: USDC

- Purpose: Fund CoW Swap Affiliate Program Pilot (CIP-###)
3 Likes
2

Personally feeling this is a positive marketing strategy, given the total affiliate rewards are lower than the average protocol Fee Rate, net of solver rewards, ensuring that the DAO is still earning profit on afilliate based flow.

Feel it’s a correct test to try this program and understand how user acquisition reacts. And then if succesfull, move towards the SC development to automate the program.

1 Like