# Canister cykle-\>to-\>ICP market

**URL:** <https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258>\
**Category:** Developers\
**Created:** [October 29, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258 "2026-10-29T21:13:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![basic1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/basic1/32/40701_2.png) [@basic1](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/basic1)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258/1 "2026-10-29T21:13:11Z")

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**Hello everyone,**

I am extremely excited to present what is likely the first solution of its kind on the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP).

Meet **[rico]** (derived from “recovery”). It turns your application’s canister into a dealer that sells ICP in exchange for cycles. Moreover, there are no technical limitations preventing it from using other tokens, such as ckBTC or any other supported asset, instead of ICP.

This transforms your canister not only into a standalone application, but also into an autonomous entity that—through open-market operations—can independently fund its own execution and operation on the network. This has the potential to completely eliminate the need for manual maintenance or top-ups.

My dream is to use this solution to build applications that require no controllers or custodians to function autonomously, and I hope you share my enthusiasm!

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**Author:** ![Henn91](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@Henn91](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/Henn91)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258/2 "2026-10-29T23:28:47Z")

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Dont really see the point to build something like this to every app. Just build 1 app that monitors all your canisters and it automatically tops up ones that run low. So your 1 will fund 10+ apps, only thing you to do is send ICP to wallet.

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**Author:** ![WebTreeSoftwareSolut](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/webtreesoftwaresolut/32/40772_2.png) [@WebTreeSoftwareSolut](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/WebTreeSoftwareSolut)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258/3 "2026-10-30T00:25:08Z")

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That’s interesting. thanks for sharing.

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**Author:** ![basic1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/basic1/32/40701_2.png) [@basic1](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/basic1)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/canister-cykle-to-icp-market/76258/4 "2026-10-30T07:41:41Z")

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Interesting point. I admit that this approach would be even simpler, and moreover, [https://docs.cycleops.dev/](https://docs.cycleops.dev/) already provides something that can fund this.

However, my goal is to create a solution that allows the application to survive my departure/death, or whatever you want to call it.

Currently, I’ve set the buyback rate where you provide 0.1T cycles and the canister gives you 0.1 ICP. Right now, this offers a very favorable exchange rate. Considering the greed of at least a portion of so-called “crypto bros,” this gives us a very powerful mechanism for generating liquidity for the application.

Once you disconnect all controllers, you don’t just have an application that runs without anyone’s control—you also get something fully autonomous in securing funds for its operation and using them to acquire cycles.

Plus, for those who accidentally purchased too many cycles, this provides a chance to swap their money back into assets like ICP.
