Step 4

Not all pools are created equal, and the difference between a good voting strategy and a lazy one can be significant in terms of fee earnings.

The core principle is simple: you want to find pools where the ratio of fees generated to votes received is highest. A pool generating $50,000 in weekly fees with only 5% of total votes directed to it is far more attractive than a pool generating $200,000 in fees but absorbing 60% of the vote weight. Your slice of a smaller, less contested pie can be worth more than a sliver of a bigger one.

What to look for:

Trading volume and fee generation. This is the top-line number. Pools with consistently high trading volume generate the most fees. On Tapp, this will likely concentrate around major pairs (stablecoins, APT pairs, high-demand assets). Look at historical volume trends rather than single-day spikes.

Current vote allocation. Check how many votes are already directed to each pool. A pool with high fees but low vote attention is an opportunity. The voting page should display this data so you can compare pools. [Exact metrics displayed TBC.]

Fee-to-vote ratio. This is the number that actually matters. Divide the pool's total fees by its share of votes. The pools with the highest ratio are where your votes earn the most per unit of voting power deployed.

Incentives. In many ve(3,3) implementations, protocols and projects can offer additional incentives to attract votes toward their pools. These bribes are paid on top of the organic trading fees, which can significantly boost the total return for voters.

Sustainability. A pool might spike in volume for a week because of a token launch or news event, then drop off. Consistently high-volume pools are generally safer votes. That said, if you're paying attention weekly, you can rotate votes to capitalise on short-term opportunities.

A practical framework: Each epoch, review the available pools and rank them by fee-to-vote ratio (including any bribes). Allocate the majority of your voting power to the top two or three pools by this metric. If you want to diversify, spread your remaining votes across pools that show emerging volume trends or attractive bribe incentives.

Reassess every epoch. The beauty of the weekly cycle is that you're never locked into a bad vote. If a pool's dynamics shift, move your votes accordingly.