Why Pair Markets
A normal token trades against a base asset, and that market is its whole identity. A Pair Market keeps the same token market and adds a financial Pair, fed by a configured share of the market’s economics.
A normal token market
A token launched on Solana today has one market: TOKEN ↔ BASE ASSET. On Pump the base asset is SOL. The bonding curve sets a price, traders buy and sell against it, and when the curve completes the coin graduates to a PumpSwap pool.
Everything a holder can say about that token comes from that one market: price, market cap, volume, holders. The token’s name may suggest Tokyo, Swiss debt or housing, but nothing in the system connects it to any of those things. The name is a story; the market is SOL.
That is fine for what it is. It also means the economics generated by the market (creator fees, trading activity) flow only to the creator and the launch venue. None of it is directed toward the thing the token is about.
What a Pair Market adds
A Pair MarketPair MarketThe canonical pairing of an internet asset with a financial Pair: TOKEN × PAIR INSTRUMENT, plus the Pair Vault, configuration and accounting that connect them. starts from the same token market and adds two things: a Pair InstrumentPair InstrumentThe financial exposure a Pair Market is paired with, such as Tokyo Residential or Swiss Government Debt. A catalog object with a provider, an eligibility policy and a status. and a configured economic flow toward it.
The token still trades against SOL on Pump. Its price, liquidity and graduation are unchanged. What changes is that the token now has a financial Pair identity: a recorded relationship to an instrument such as Tokyo Residential, a Pair VaultPair VaultThe account that receives settlement value allocated to one Pair Market, holds it until conversion, and holds the acquired Pair Asset until it is allocated to holders. that receives a share of the market’s creator fees, and a route by which that value is converted into the instrument’s Pair AssetPair AssetThe transferable onchain asset the implementation acquires and distributes for a Pair Instrument. Holders receive the Pair Asset, not the reference market itself. and allocated to holders.
One market. The token's identity is its price against the base asset.
Same token market, plus a financial Pair fed by a configured share of the market's economics.
Figure summary: Left: a normal token, $TOKYO trading against SOL, one market. Right: a Pair Market, the same $TOKYO against SOL market, plus a configured Pair flow from that market toward the Tokyo Residential Pair Asset.
The configured flow is concrete. Every PairStreet launch locks Pump’s creator-fee stream for the coin into a split on-chain: 50% to the creator, 25% to the PairStreet protocol and 25% to the market’s Pair Vault reservePair Vault reserveThe 25% share of a Pair Market's creator fees earmarked for its Pair Vault. Held by the PairStreet treasury until the market's settlement route activates.. On-chain this is two shareholders in Pump’s fee-sharing config, the creator at 5,000 bps and the PairStreet treasury at 5,000 bps (protocol plus reserve). Pump allows the split to be written once; after that it is permanent.
The reserve is attributable per market because each coin has its own fee-sharing config. Until the market’s settlement route and vault custody activate, the reserve accrues to the PairStreet treasury. Protocol Economics covers the full fee model.
Paired is not backed
The distinction matters because the two claims have different consequences. A backed token implies that each unit can be exchanged for a defined quantity of the underlying, that reserves cover supply, and that someone owes holders that exchange. None of that is true of a Pair Market, and PairStreet never describes it that way.
A paired token says something narrower and verifiable: this market has a recorded Pair Instrument, a locked fee split, a Pair Vault, and accounting that can be inspected row by row. The token’s market cap and the Pair’s value are separate quantities. Pair Value is the tracked value of Pair Assets held for the market; it moves with settlements and reference prices, while market cap moves with trading.
Tokyo Residential is a Pair Instrument representing the target financial exposure configured for the Pair Market. That sentence is the model for every description of a Pair.
Precise vocabulary
Seven phrases describe how a token, an instrument and an asset relate. Each has one meaning. Interfaces, integrations and announcements built on PairStreet use them exactly as below.
| Phrase | Means | Correct use | Never means |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAIRED WITH | The market’s configured Pair Instrument. | $TOKYO is paired with Tokyo Residential. | Backed by, redeemable for, or owning the instrument. |
| REWARDS PAID IN | The asset reward epochs allocate to holders. | Rewards are paid in the instrument’s Pair Asset. | A promised amount, rate or schedule. |
| ACQUIRED BY | The route that obtains the Pair Asset. | The Pair Asset is acquired by the Pair Router through an onchain swap. | Bought on behalf of individual token holders. |
| TRACKS | The reference market an instrument follows. | Tokyo Residential tracks Tokyo residential property. | Holds, owns or delivers that market. |
| ISSUED BY | The legal issuer of a Pair Asset. | PAXG is issued by Paxos Trust Company. | A partnership with PairStreet. |
| REDEEMABLE FOR | What an issuer exchanges an asset for, under its terms. | Redemption of a Pair Asset follows its issuer’s documents. | Anything about the PairStreet token. |
| CUSTODIED BY | Who holds an asset at a given moment. | Unallocated Pair Asset is custodied by the Pair Vault. | Who is economically entitled to it. |
Vocabulary applied to two markets
The same phrases produce different sentences for an instrument listed in the Pair Registry and an instrument with an onchain asset already route ready. Both read correctly because each phrase is used for one relationship only.
| Phrase | $TOKYO × Tokyo Residential | $GOLD × Gold (PAX Gold) |
|---|---|---|
| Paired with | Tokyo Residential (TKYRES, real_estate) | Gold (PAX Gold) (PAXG, commodities) |
| Tracks | Tokyo residential property | Gold, one token per fine troy ounce per the issuer |
| Issued by | Listed by the PairStreet Pair Registry; Pair Asset issuer set when the provider route activates | Paxos Trust Company |
| Acquired by | Pair Router, through the route the provider activates | Pair Router, ONCHAIN_SWAP (live Jupiter quotes, route ready) |
| Rewards paid in | The Pair Asset connected by the route | PAXG |
| Custodied by | Pair Vault, then the holder’s wallet after a claim | Pair Vault, then the holder’s wallet after a claim |
| Redeemable for | Per the Pair Asset issuer’s terms | Per Paxos’s terms (see issuer documents) |
$GOLD is a hypothetical ticker. Gold (PAX Gold) is a real catalog instrument; Paxos is its issuer, and PairStreet references the PAXG token without any commercial relationship.
Why separate the market from the Pair
PairStreet could have tried to make the token itself a financial instrument. It does the opposite: the trading market and the financial Pair identity are kept apart on purpose.
- ·The token stays standard. It is a Pump coin on Solana. Every wallet, explorer, aggregator and AMM handles it without special support, and its liquidity mechanics are Pump’s, unchanged. Pump and Solana draws the line precisely.
- ·The Pair is configurable per instrument. Each instrument has its own provider, route mode, eligibility rules and settlement asset. None of that belongs inside a token contract, and none of it needs to change the token.
- ·Provider routes are modular. An instrument listed today connects its settlement asset when its provider route activates. The token launched against it does not need to be relaunched. Providers describes the interface.
- ·Accounting stays honest. Market cap measures the token market; Pair ValuePair ValueThe current tracked value of Pair Assets associated with a Pair Market according to PairStreet accounting: Σ quantity × reference price. Independent of the token's market cap. measures acquired Pair Assets. Two ledgers, two numbers, no blending.
- ·Access rules apply to the Pair, not the token. The token trades openly. Rewards from a Pair whose instrument restricts a region are not claimable from that region. Eligibility explains the engine.
The result is one token market with a second, separately accounted layer attached. Removing the Pair leaves a normal token. Removing the token leaves a configured instrument route. The Pair Market is the record that joins them.
Example pairings
The six pairings below use hypothetical tickers. The instruments are real entries in the PairStreet catalog, listed by the PairStreet Pair Registry; each one’s settlement asset connects when its provider route activates.
| Token | Paired with | Catalog symbol | Category | Asset type | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $TOKYO | Tokyo Residential | TKYRES | Real estate | housing_index | Tokyo residential property across the 23 wards |
| $SWISS | Swiss Government Debt | CHGOV | Bonds | sovereign_bond | Swiss Confederation bonds |
| $NYC | NYC Municipal Debt | NYCMUNI | Bonds | municipal_bond | General-obligation and revenue bonds of the City of New York |
| $HOUSE | U.S. Housing | USHOME | Housing | housing_index | Single-family U.S. housing against national home-price data |
| $JGB | Japan Government Bonds | JGB | Bonds | sovereign_bond | Japanese sovereign debt across the curve |
| $BANK | Global Banking | BANKS | Sectors | sector_basket | Systemically important banks across the U.S., Europe and Asia |
Figure summary: Hypothetical tickers paired with catalog instruments: $TOKYO with Tokyo Residential (TKYRES, real estate), $SWISS with Swiss Government Debt (CHGOV, sovereign bonds), $NYC with NYC Municipal Debt (NYCMUNI, municipal bonds), $HOUSE with U.S. Housing (USHOME, housing), $JGB with Japan Government Bonds (JGB, sovereign bonds), $BANK with Global Banking (BANKS, sector basket).
Each row reads the same way: the token is paired with the instrument, the instrument tracks its reference market, and holder rewards are paid in the instrument’s Pair Asset once its route is active. None of the six tokens is backed by, or redeemable for, its instrument.
The catalog holds 44 instruments today, from sovereign and municipal debt to housing, commodities and credit. Instruments that are not listed yet can be requested; Pair Requests turns that demand into a ranked list. Pair Markets defines the object these rows create.