Manual Positions
Learn about manual concentrated liquidity positions powered by Algebra Integral v4 for advanced traders and liquidity providers.
Quick Start (TL;DR)
Manual Concentrated Liquidity in 30 seconds: Create your own precise liquidity positions with Algebra Integral v4 → Choose exact price ranges → Earn trading fees directly → Full control over your strategy. Perfect for experienced DeFi users who want maximum control.
Supercharge Your Strategy with AI Agents: Let our AI agents optimize your liquidity positions automatically. From position monitoring to strategic rebalancing, our agents can help maximize your returns across all pool types. Learn more about AI Agents.
What is Manual Concentrated Liquidity?
Manual concentrated liquidity gives you complete control over your liquidity provision strategy. Instead of relying on automated management, you personally choose the exact price ranges where your capital is active, when to rebalance, and how to optimize your positions.
This approach is powered by Algebra Integral v4, one of the most sophisticated AMM engines available, providing institutional-grade features for advanced users.
Precision Control
Your decisions: Set exact price ranges based on your market analysis, risk tolerance, and yield expectations. No algorithms making choices for you.
Maximum Efficiency
Capital optimization: Concentrate your funds precisely where you expect trading to occur. Potentially 1000x more capital efficient than traditional AMMs.
Strategic Advantage
Market insights: Use your knowledge of market trends, news, and technical analysis to position liquidity for maximum returns.
Full Customization
Your strategy: Implement complex strategies, experiment with different approaches, and adapt quickly to changing market conditions.
How Algebra Integral v4 Powers Manual Positions
Thirdfy's manual concentrated liquidity is built on Algebra Integral v4, providing advanced AMM technology:
Advanced Technical Features
Algebra Integral v4 provides institutional-grade CL features such as:
- dynamic fees (volatility-aware)
- active liquidity accounting (only in-range liquidity is active)
- MEV protections
- gas-optimized position management
- flexible tick spacing
How to Create Manual Positions
1. Pick a pool (pair) and set your range
Choose the token pair, then set the price range where your liquidity will be active. Narrower ranges are more capital efficient, but require more active management.
2. Deposit tokens and mint your position (NFT)
Provide the tokens, confirm the deposit, and mint your position. You’ll receive an NFT that represents your manual concentrated liquidity position (this is the standard v3/v4 model).
3. Manage your position (rebalance when needed)
You earn swap fees while your position is in-range. When price moves near/outside your range, update your range (rebalance) to keep fees flowing.
How to stake your position for emissions (when a Manual Gauge is available)
Minimum TVL rule (Jeff Biz Dev criteria): if the pool TVL is below $10,000, the oracle may record the epoch with empty scores — so emissions distribution for that epoch can be 0 (even if you’re staked and there were votes). This rule applies to all gauges (manual + automated). Swap fees are separate and are not affected.
Once a Manual Concentrated Liquidity gauge is live for your market, you can stake your v3 LP NFT position directly in the Thirdfy dashboard to become eligible for emissions.
Staked vs unstaked (fees + emissions):
- Unstaked NFT: you keep custody of the position NFT and you earn swap fees while your position is in-range. You can collect fees directly via the position manager / UI. You are not eligible for gauge emissions.
- Staked NFT (in the Manual CL Fee Gauge): the gauge holds your NFT, which makes it eligible for emissions. Your position still earns swap fees while in-range — the gauge can collect those fees and sends them to the staker (with a small protocol fee cut sent to the protocol treasury).
Important: staking does not “turn off” trading fees — it changes who can call collect() on the NFT (the gauge, since it is the NFT holder) and then forwards the collected amounts to you.
1. Open the Manual Gauge in the dashboard
Go to the Thirdfy dashboard and open the Manual CL gauge for the pair/market you want incentives on.
2. Stake your NFT position
You have two options:
- Stake All (recommended for multiple NFTs): from the dashboard My Positions (Manual tab), click Stake all / Stake all positions.
- The modal automatically builds a list of eligible NFT positions (open positions with liquidity).
- It will skip positions that:
- don’t have a CL gauge yet,
- are already staked,
- or are staked by another wallet.
- You can toggle Operator approval (recommended):
- If approvals are needed, this uses 1 approval per gauge (instead of 1 approval per NFT).
- Click Stake all to begin staking:
- If your wallet supports batching, you may sign once (or a small number of confirmations for large batches).
- Otherwise, you’ll sign one transaction per eligible NFT (plus approvals if required).
- Stake individually: open a specific position and click Stake to stake a single NFT.
3. Earn + claim emissions
Once your NFT is transferred and staked, your position is tracked for emissions. You can claim rewards from the dashboard as they accrue.
FAQ: “If I stake, do I still get trading fees?”
Yes. Your manual position continues to earn swap fees while it’s in-range, whether it’s staked or not.
When you stake, the gauge becomes the NFT custodian, so fee collection is done via the gauge and the collected fees are forwarded to your wallet (net of the protocol’s fee cut).
Position Types
Range Selection Basics
Wide Ranges
Conservative: Less management needed, more stable returns, lower fees per dollar. Good for beginners.
Narrow Ranges
Aggressive: Higher capital efficiency, more fees when active, needs frequent rebalancing. For experienced users.
Important Considerations
Manual positions require active management. Manual positions always earn swap fees while they are in-range. Incentives are only available if a Manual CL Fee Gauge exists for your pool and you stake your NFT into that gauge — if there’s no gauge (or you don’t stake), you still earn fees but you won’t earn gauge incentives. Learn more in Gauge Types.
Manual vs Automatic: When to Choose Each
Understanding when manual concentrated liquidity makes sense for your situation:
Important: With the upgraded emissions system, incentives can be directed to multiple gauge types. Manual CL positions always earn swap fees when in-range; gauge incentives require an active Manual CL Fee Gauge + staking the NFT. Learn the differences in Gauge Types.
Choose Manual When:
✅ You want full control over ranges
✅ You have strong market predictions
✅ You enjoy active position management
✅ You want to experiment with strategies
✅ You're experienced with DeFi
✅ You have time for regular monitoring
✅ You want trading fees from swaps regardless of emissions eligibility
Key Risks to Understand
- Impermanent Loss: Temporary value changes when token prices diverge
- Active Management Required: Positions need regular monitoring and rebalancing
- Incentives depend on gauges: trading fees are always earned when in-range; gauge incentives depend on whether a Manual CL Fee Gauge exists for your pool and whether you stake the NFT.
Getting Started
Ready to try manual concentrated liquidity? Here's your path:
Ready to Take Control?
Manual concentrated liquidity offers maximum control for experienced DeFi users:
New to concentrated liquidity? Consider starting with Automatic Pools to learn the concepts before moving to manual management. If there isn’t an automatic strategy for your pool yet, start with a small position and a wide range to learn the mechanics safely.