Circle Admin Guide: Overview
What is a Circle Admin?
You are the manager of a group of merchants. Think of it like owning a franchise — you take care of sellers, solve problems, and earn a share of everything they sell.
Why become a Circle Admin?
💰 Earnings
- 0.25% of all volume from your merchants
- Part of the rewards when you delegate capital
- The more your Circle grows, the more you earn
🏆 Autonomy
- You choose which merchants to accept
- Set rules for your Circle (within limits)
- Build your own community
📈 Scalability
- No limit on merchants (up to 300 per Circle)
- Can attract investors to delegate capital
- Your Circle can become a reference in the region
What do you need to do?
Main responsibilities
| Task | What it means |
|---|---|
| Recruit merchants | Find trustworthy sellers |
| Approve registrations | Verify if the merchant is legitimate |
| Resolve disputes | Decide when buyer and seller disagree |
| Provide support | Help merchants with questions and problems |
| Monitor performance | Identify problematic merchants |
What is NOT your responsibility
- Processing payments (it's automatic)
- Holding third-party money (everything is on-chain)
- Doing KYC on users (protocol handles this)
How much does it cost to start?
Initial deposit in P2P tokens
- Equivalent to $250 USDC in P2P tokens
- This amount stays locked while your Circle exists
- Can be increased to attract more delegations
Why this deposit?
- Proof of commitment — you have skin in the game
- Security fund — can be used if you make too many mistakes
- Ranking — Circles with more stake appear first
How much can you earn?
Example with 50 active merchants
Assumptions:
- Average volume per merchant: $5,000/month
- Total Circle volume: $250,000/month
Your earnings:
| Source | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Base commission (0.25%) | $250,000 × 0.25% | $625/month |
| Delegation (if applicable) | Variable | +$100-500/month |
With 200 merchants: potential of $2,500+ per month
What are the risks?
Your deposit can be reduced if:
| Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Many merchants abandon transactions (>5%) | 1% of stake |
| You decide disputes incorrectly (2+ times) | Amount defined by protocol |
| You approve invalid claims (2+ times) | 1% of stake |
How to protect yourself:
✅ Choose merchants carefully ✅ Document all dispute decisions ✅ When in doubt, ask for a second opinion ✅ Monitor inactive merchants
Available tools
Circle Dashboard
- View all merchants and status
- Track volume and transactions
- Approve/reject merchant registrations
Dispute Management
- Receive dispute notifications
- Analyze evidence from both sides
- Record decision on-chain
Capital Delegation
- See how much capital was delegated to the Circle
- Allocate capital to specific merchants
- Track performance by merchant
Access Control (RBAC)
- Give permissions to helpers
- Someone to approve merchants
- Someone to resolve minor disputes
First steps
1. Create your Circle
- Connect your wallet
- Deposit P2P tokens
- Configure name and community link
2. Define your rules
- Auto-approval of merchants? (recommended: no)
- Telegram/Discord link
- Criteria for accepting merchants
3. Recruit your first merchants
- Start with people you know
- Ask for referrals
- Promote in your community
4. Monitor and adjust
- Track metrics daily at the beginning
- Solve problems quickly
- Build reputation
Circle Admin Checklist
- I understand my responsibilities
- I have capital to deposit
- I have time to manage (minimum 1-2h/day at the start)
- I know potential merchants
- I can create a community (Telegram/Discord)
- I understand the risks and penalties