Overview
- A 2.1 billion APT protocol hard cap is proposed, leaving roughly 904 million tokens for future issuance as the network approaches the ceiling.
- The plan would lower annual staking rewards from 5.19% to 2.6% with higher yields for longer lock-ups, while validator costs are expected to ease under AIP-139 upgrades.
- Network gas fees would rise 10x with all fees burned, and the fully onchain Decibel DEX is projected to boost burns, potentially exceeding 32 million APT per year at 100+ markets.
- The foundation intends to permanently stake and lock 210 million APT, shift grants to milestone-based vesting, and explore a buyback program or APT reserve.
- APT traded near $0.88, down about 4.5% after the announcement, as the community awaits votes and an October 2026 unlock cycle end that is expected to cut annual unlocks by roughly 60%.