Padded quotes vs the block price: why a lower number you actually get beats a higher one you do not
Known formally as Quote equals execution in the BlazePhoenix whitepaper.
BlazePhoenix Engineering · updated 2026-07-28 · 8 min · written from the deployed bytecode
By Mitra (@Sigmacrit) — anonymous developer of the BlazePhoenix protocol. The code is the résumé.
Abstract in 15 languages · resumo · resumen · 摘要 · 要旨 · ملخص
English — Many aggregators show an optimistic quote and hide the shortfall in a 2.5–5% slippage buffer. We quote the exact block price and fill at tight slippage — and disclose where Curve-class pools still beat us.
Português — Muitos agregadores mostram uma cotação otimista e escondem a diferença num buffer de slippage de 2,5–5%. Nós cotamos o preço exato do bloco e executamos com slippage apertada — e revelamos onde as pools tipo Curve ainda nos batem.
Español — Muchos agregadores muestran una cotización optimista y esconden la diferencia en un margen de slippage de 2,5–5%. Cotizamos el precio exacto del bloque y ejecutamos con slippage ajustada — y revelamos dónde las pools tipo Curve aún nos ganan.
Français — Beaucoup d’agrégateurs affichent une cotation optimiste et cachent l’écart dans une marge de slippage de 2,5–5%. Nous cotons le prix exact du bloc et exécutons avec un slippage serré — et disons où les pools type Curve nous devancent encore.
Deutsch — Viele Aggregatoren zeigen eine optimistische Quote und verstecken die Differenz in einem 2,5–5%-Slippage-Puffer. Wir quoten den exakten Blockpreis und füllen mit engem Slippage — und legen offen, wo Curve-Pools uns noch schlagen.
Русский — Многие агрегаторы показывают оптимистичную котировку и прячут разницу в буфере проскальзывания 2,5–5%. Мы котируем точную цену блока и исполняем с узким проскальзыванием — и раскрываем, где пулы типа Curve нас пока обходят.
Türkçe — Birçok toplayıcı iyimser bir teklif gösterip farkı %2,5–5 kayma tamponunda saklar. Biz tam blok fiyatını veririz ve dar kaymayla gerçekleştiririz — ve Curve tipi havuzların bizi hâlâ geçtiği yeri açıkça söyleriz.
العربية — كثير من المجمّعات تعرض تسعيرًا متفائلًا وتخفي الفارق في هامش انزلاق 2.5–5%. نحن نسعّر سعر الكتلة الدقيق وننفّذ بانزلاق ضيّق — ونكشف أين تتفوّق علينا مجمّعات من نوع Curve.
हिन्दी — कई एग्रीगेटर आशावादी भाव दिखाते हैं और अंतर को 2.5–5% स्लिपेज बफ़र में छिपाते हैं। हम ब्लॉक का असली भाव देते हैं और कम स्लिपेज पर पूरा करते हैं — और बताते हैं कि Curve जैसी पूल कहाँ हमसे बेहतर हैं।
日本語 — 多くのアグリゲーターは楽観的な見積りを示し、差を2.5〜5%のスリッページ余白に隠します。私たちは正確なブロック価格を提示し、狭いスリッページで約定 — そしてCurve系プールがまだ優る箇所を明示します。
中文 — 许多聚合器显示乐观报价，把差额藏进 2.5–5% 的滑点缓冲里。我们报出精确的区块价格并以极小滑点成交——并公开 Curve 类资金池仍胜过我们的地方。
한국어 — 많은 애그리게이터가 낙관적 견적을 보여주고 그 차이를 2.5–5% 슬리피지 버퍼에 숨깁니다. 우리는 정확한 블록 가격을 견적하고 좁은 슬리피지로 체결하며 — Curve류 풀이 아직 우리를 앞서는 곳을 밝힙니다.
Bahasa Indonesia — Banyak agregator menampilkan kuotasi optimistis dan menyembunyikan selisihnya di buffer slippage 2,5–5%. Kami mengutip harga blok yang tepat dan mengeksekusi dengan slippage ketat — serta mengungkap di mana pool tipe Curve masih mengungguli kami.
বাংলা — অনেক অ্যাগ্রিগেটর আশাবাদী কোট দেখিয়ে ফারাকটা ২.৫–৫% স্লিপেজ বাফারে লুকায়। আমরা ব্লকের সঠিক দাম কোট করি এবং কম স্লিপেজে সম্পন্ন করি — আর কোথায় Curve-ধরনের পুল এখনো আমাদের চেয়ে ভালো তা জানাই।
Filipino — Maraming aggregator ang nagpapakita ng optimistikong quote at itinatago ang pagkakaiba sa 2.5–5% na slippage buffer. Iniquote namin ang eksaktong presyo ng block at nag-e-execute sa masikip na slippage — at inaamin kung saan mas magaling pa sa amin ang mga Curve-type na pool.
Two aggregators can show you two different prices for the same swap, and the HIGHER one is often the worse deal. That sounds backwards until you separate the number a screen displays from the number the chain actually gives you. Those are two different quantities, and most of the industry profits from you conflating them.
The gap between them has a name — slippage — and the question that matters is not "what did the app promise" but "how far below that promise is it allowed to fill before the transaction still counts as a success".
How a padded quote works
A common design shows you an optimistic expected output — the best-case number for a single instant — and then sets a WIDE slippage tolerance behind it, often 2.5% or even 5%. That tolerance is the amount the realised fill is permitted to fall below the displayed figure and still go through. So the screen shows a ceiling, the buffer quietly absorbs the difference, and you discover the real price only after it has settled. Nothing errored; you simply received less than the number that convinced you to click, and there is no line item telling you so.
The wider the buffer, the prettier the headline number can be, because a large slippage tolerance gives the fill room to disappoint. A 5% tolerance on a four-figure swap is tens of dollars the interface is allowed to lose you without breaking its promise — and that is on top of the protocol fee and the price impact of your size.
The block price, and tight slippage by discipline
BlazePhoenix quotes differently: the number you see is produced by previewPlan, an eth_call on the same contract that will settle the swap, against the live block, clamped to the balances the pools actually hold. Quote equals execution — the figure is not a hopeful ceiling, it is the calculation that runs. Because it is the real number, we do not need a fat buffer to hide a gap; the slippage discipline is tight: on the order of 0.2% for established and stable pairs, and about 0.5% for more exotic ones. You set your own limit, and a compromised frontend can only tighten the floor, never relax it.
A tight, honest quote can look SMALLER on the screen than a padded one, and be worth more in your wallet, because you actually receive it — and if the fill beats the quote, the surplus is returned to you fee-exempt rather than pocketed. The right comparison between venues is never the displayed number alone; it is displayed number minus fee minus the slippage the venue is allowed to take. Measure that, at your real size, and the padded quote usually loses.
Where we are honestly weaker: Curve-class pools, for now
Honesty runs both ways, and here is the case where our quote can be the WORSE one. For some tokens — especially stablecoins and pegged assets — the deepest liquidity lives in Curve and Curve-crypto style pools, and those venues are not yet in our routed set in production. For a pair whose real depth is concentrated there, our number can come back below the market, not because we padded anything, but because we are missing that liquidity. We would rather show you a lower honest number and tell you why than quietly route you into a shallow pool.
So the rule we ask you to apply to us is the same one we ask you to apply to everyone: for a Curve-heavy stable pair, compare, and use the venue that genuinely holds the depth — which today may not be us. Curve-class routing is on the roadmap; until it ships, this paragraph is the disclosure, not a footnote we hope you miss. A protocol that tells you where it is behind is telling you the truth about where it is ahead.
Do not trust this page — reproduce it
Every claim above is checkable against the chain. Start here:
run previewPlan and compare the quoted number to the realised fill (they match by construction); then take a Curve-heavy stable pair and compare our quote to a Curve-routing aggregator — the gap we disclose is real and measurable, not hiddenContracts are verified on every chain we deploy to — addresses in the protocol manifest. Deeper formal treatment: the whitepaper (PDF).
Share this article · join the discussion