​

How QUAI ↔ QI Conversions Work in the Pelagus Wallet (Market Make)

Starting April 16, 2025, you’ll be able to convert between QUAI and QI directly inside the Pelagus wallet through an advanced feature called Market Make.

Whether you’re mining QI and want to swap to QUAI, or holding QUAI and want to convert into QI, this guide walks you through how Market Make works — including how slippage, prime blocks, and token lockups come into play.

​

What is Market Make?

Market Make is Pelagus’ advanced on-chain conversion feature that lets you exchange QUAI ↔ QI.

When you initiate a Market Make, you’re submitting a special transaction to the Quai blockchain. It will execute during the next prime block—if your conditions are met.

​

Step-by-Step: How Market Make Works

​

1. Start a Market Make Conversion

In the Pelagus wallet:

• Open the Market Make feature
• Choose your conversion direction (QUAI → QI or QI → QUAI)
• Enter the amount
• View the current estimated slip
• Set a maximum slippage threshold (e.g., 1.5%)

​

2. Transaction Goes to Conversion Pool

Your Market Make transaction is submitted to the Quai chain and enters the conversion pool, where it waits for the next prime block.

​

3. Slippage May Change Before Finalization

⚠️ Every conversion transaction will incur a 20 basis point slip

During this waiting period:

• Other users may submit conversions
• Total conversion pool volume increases
• Result: Slippage may increase dynamically, especially during spikes in demand

​

4. What Happens at the Prime Block?

• If final slippage ≤ your slippage threshold:

  • Your conversion succeeds
  • You receive the target asset (Qi or Quai)
  • The output is locked for 2 weeks

• If final slippage > your slippage threshold:

  • Your conversion fails
  • But:
    • The transaction still executes on-chain
    • If converting Qi → Quai, your funds may be aggregated
    • After 2 weeks, you receive the original asset back

​

What Is Slippage?

Slippage is the difference between the expected and actual conversion rate, driven by conversion volume changes in the conversion pool.

• Displayed at submission time
• Not locked in until the prime block
• Users set their max slippage tolerance
• Higher conversion pool volume = greater chance of slippage increasing

​

2-Week Lockup Applies to All Completed Transactions

Whether your transaction succeeds or fails:

• The output (QI or QUAI) is locked for 2 weeks
• This maintains system stability and prevents liquidity disruptions

​

Key Things to Know

​

Example: Market Make in Action

You want to convert 5,000 QUAI into QI.

• You submit the Market Make with a 1.5% slippage threshold
• At submission, current slippage is 0.7%
• Other users then submit 100,000 Quai in conversions before the next prime block
• Final slippage = 2.1%

​

Result:

• Your transaction fails
• You receive your original 5,000 QUAI back

💡 Pro Tip
To increase your chance of success:

• Choose a reasonable slippage threshold based on recent volume trends
• Submit your transaction shortly after a prime block, when the conversion pool volume has reset

For more information on the relationship between QUAI and QI see our blog post on the topic.

Need help or want to dive deeper? Visit the Pelagus documentation or join the Quai Discord to chat with the community.