> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bextree.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bextree.com/company/principles.md).

# Principles

The decisions that recur throughout the product all trace back to a few commitments:

## Custody is the last resort

We take custody only where it removes risk (vaulting LP positions before auction), never for convenience. Where we can't take custody, we price the risk with a bond instead of pretending it away.

## The refund is the default

Every failure path in settlement ends with the buyer's money returned in full, automatically. Nobody should need a support ticket to not lose money.

## Fees only on outcomes

We charge 1.5% when a sale completes. Not on bids, not on listings, not on auctions that don't sell. If the marketplace didn't deliver a trade, it didn't earn anything.

## Say what we can't prove

No audit yet, program IDs unpublished, beta status — where trust can't yet be verified, we say so instead of implying otherwise. Claims should be checkable or absent.

## Identity without accounts

Your wallet is your identity; a signature is your consent. We don't hold passwords, emails, or sessions that could be stolen, and every sensitive action requires a fresh signature.

## Keep the trusted core small

On-chain programs contain settlement logic only. Protocol-specific complexity is quarantined in adapters at the edges. Small, boring, auditable components are the goal.