Avalanche (AVAX) tokenomics

Issuance Mechanism

The Avalanche token (AVAX) operates with a capped supply of 720 million tokens. The issuance mechanism is primarily driven by staking rewards, which are designed to be distributed over at least ten years, although the rate and timeline are subject to on-chain governance changes.

• Staking Rewards Allocation: A total of 360 million AVAX, representing 50% of the initial total token supply, is allocated for staking rewards distributed to validators and delegators.
• Inflationary/Deflationary Balance: While new tokens are minted for staking rewards (inflationary), all network transaction fees are burned (deflationary). This burning mechanism drives value to all token holders by increasing scarcity, rather than compounding the balances of validators and delegators through fee distribution.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial total token supply of AVAX was distributed across various groups, with different vesting schedules applied to ensure long-term alignment.

Public Sale Details

The public token sale, conducted in July 2020, offered three options with varying vesting terms:

• Option A1 (~1.00% of supply): Sold at $0.50 per token, subject to a one-year vesting schedule with quarterly unlocks, with 10% available at mainnet launch.
• Option A2 (~8.33% of supply): Sold at $0.50 per token, subject to an 18-month vesting schedule with quarterly unlocks, with 10% available at mainnet launch.
• Option B (~0.67% of supply): Sold at $0.85 per token, with no vesting schedule.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

AVAX serves multiple utility functions within the Avalanche ecosystem, primarily focused on security, transaction settlement, and ecosystem growth.

Core Utility

• Security (Staking): AVAX is staked to secure the network. Validators must self-stake a minimum of 2,000 AVAX and meet hardware requirements. Users can also delegate AVAX to existing validators, with a minimum delegation amount.
• Transaction Fees: All network transaction fees across the Primary Network (P-Chain, X-Chain, and C-Chain) are settled in AVAX and are burned, contributing to the token's deflationary pressure.
• Governance (Future): Avalanche intends to establish an on-chain governance feature where validators and stakers can propose and execute changes to network parameters, such as the AVAX token emissions rate. As of November 2024, this governance system is not yet live.

Ecosystem Incentives

The Avalanche Foundation actively uses AVAX to incentivize growth through several programs:

• Avalanche Rush: A liquidity mining program launched in August 2021 to incentivize DeFi applications to launch on the C-Chain and bootstrap liquidity.
• Avalanche Multiverse: A Subnet growth fund launched in March 2022, allocating 4 million AVAX to support eligible Subnets.
• Retro9000: A $40 million retroactive funding program introduced in September 2024 to support developers building foundational tools and Layer 1 networks on the platform.
• Airdrops: Ongoing airdrops are used to incentivize the user base, including rewards for individuals who use the Avalanche Bridge to move assets from Ethereum and Bitcoin to Avalanche.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

The locking mechanism for AVAX is primarily tied to staking and initial token allocations, ensuring long-term commitment to the network.

Staking Lockup

• Minimum Staking Time: The minimum amount of time AVAX funds can be staked for both validators and delegators is two weeks.
• Maximum Staking Time: The maximum staking duration is one year. Staking for the maximum time incentivizes stakers with an additional 11.11% of tokens minted compared to staking for the minimum duration.

Vesting Schedules for Initial Allocations

Initial token allocations for the project team, foundation, and strategic partners are subject to multi-year vesting periods:

• Project Team & Strategic Partners: Subject to a four-year vesting period.
• Avalanche Foundation: Subject to a 10-year vesting schedule.
• Community and Development Endowment: Subject to a one-year vesting schedule.
• Airdrop Allocation: Subject to a four-year vesting schedule.

Future Scheduled Unlocks

The following table outlines the next ten scheduled AVAX token unlocks, which are part of the pre-defined vesting schedules for various allocations. Each of these unlocks is projected to release 1,666,800 AVAX and have a consistent impact of 0.39% on the circulating supply at the time of the unlock.