For years, crypto payments have had a small but frustrating problem. Before you can even send money on most blockchains, you first need to buy and hold the network’s native token just to pay gas fees. For crypto natives, this might seem like a minor step. But for mainstream users? It’s a major barrier to adoption. This is exactly what 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹 𝟭𝟬 on @Concordium is designed to solve. Protocol 10 has officially gone live on #Concordium Mainnet (March 10, 2026), marking an important milestone in the network’s evolution. Its key innovation is sponsored transaction fees. The idea is simple, but powerful: Transaction fees are no longer tied to the sender. This means applications, businesses, or service providers can cover the transaction fees on behalf of users. As a result, people can interact with blockchain applications without needing to buy or hold the native token first. That single change removes one of the biggest friction points in blockchain usability. Users get a smoother experience, while developers can design apps that feel much closer to the Web2 products people are already familiar with. 1/ A THREAD ✍️

2/ Before 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟏𝟎: ▫️You want to send a token ▫️You must hold $CCD to pay the gas fee ▫️Even if you’re only using stablecoins, $CCD is still required After 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟏𝟎: ➠ A sponsor can cover the transaction fee ➠ The user only needs to sign the transaction ➠ The sponsor pays the network fee The result? Users no longer need to hold $CCD just to complete a transaction. This removes one of the most common friction points in blockchain payments and makes the experience much easier for everyday users to interact with apps on the network. Imagine signing a stablecoin payment without buying volatile tokens first. Fees are fiat-pegged (€0.01–€0.02), predictable, and protocol-enforced, preventing reuse or detachment of commitments.

3/ From a technical standpoint, the design is intentional and secure. Each sponsored transaction includes two cryptographic commitments: ➠ The sender signs the action they want to perform. ➠ The sponsor signs a commitment to cover the transaction fee. That fee commitment is directly linked to the transaction payload, meaning it cannot be reused, altered, or detached from the transaction. The result is a system that delivers greater flexibility for applications and users, while still maintaining strong security guarantees at the protocol level. For payments and apps, it's game-changing: Customers pay with stablecoins effortlessly, without CCD balances interrupting flows. Apps can integrate token transfers smoothly, enabling peer-to-peer sends, token-gated experiences, and high-volume ops without users hitting fee walls. Web3 finally feels predictable!

4/ Why does this matter so much? Because gas friction has slowed Web3 adoption for years. Think about a new user trying a crypto payment app. Instead of simply making a payment, they often have to: ➠ Set up a wallet ➠ Buy the network’s native token ➠ Keep extra tokens just to cover gas fees ➠ Deal with fluctuating transaction costs That process might feel normal to experienced crypto users. But for someone new, it can be confusing and discouraging. Sponsored transactions remove that entire layer of friction. Users can interact with applications without worrying about gas tokens, making blockchain payments feel much closer to the simplicity people expect from everyday digital apps.

5/ Now imagine the same payment flow with 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟏𝟎. A user opens an app and pays with a stablecoin. Behind the scenes: ➠ The app or merchant sponsors the transaction fee ➠ The user simply signs the transaction ➠ The payment settles on-chain The user doesn’t need to worry about gas. They don’t even need to hold $CCD. The experience becomes much closer to using Apple Pay or a regular card payment, rather than the complex process people often associate with traditional crypto transactions.

6/ This upgrade is especially important for stablecoins and merchant payments. #Concordium previously introduced protocol-level tokens, enabling regulated issuers to launch stablecoins directly at the protocol layer. Now, with 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟏𝟎: ✔️Customers can pay directly with stablecoins ✔️Merchants or apps sponsor the small network fee ✔️Transactions stay fast, predictable, and low-cost This creates a much smoother payment experience, where users can simply pay with the asset they already hold, while businesses handle the backend infrastructure.

7/ For merchants and consumer applications, this unlocks a much smoother user experience. Apps can now: ☑️ Sponsor fees when onboarding new users ☑️ Offer gasless transactions ☑️ Simplify wallet interactions ☑️ Enable one-click payment flows Developers can even choose to sponsor fees for specific features inside their apps, making blockchain interactions almost invisible to the user. And that’s a major step forward for consumer adoption in Web3.

8/ But 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟏𝟎 is only part of the story. It completes Concordium’s broader PayFi (𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 + 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲) infrastructure, built through a series of protocol upgrades. Each upgrade laid an important foundation. Here’s how the stack comes together: ➠ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟖 (𝐏𝟖) Focused on network reliability and validator stability, ensuring consistent block production and fast finality. This created a strong base for payment-grade infrastructure. ➠ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝟗 (𝐏𝟗) Introduced protocol-level tokens, enabling compliant digital assets and stablecoins directly at the protocol layer. These upgrades laid the groundwork for a system where regulated assets and real-world payments can operate efficiently on-chain.