Aptos is undertaking a significant restructuring of its tokenomics model as its native token, APT, continues to trade sharply below historical values, having lost over 85% of its worth and remaining over 95% down from its early 2023 peak. In the past month alone, APT saw a 44% decline.
The Aptos Foundation is shifting from an emissions-heavy model to a performance-driven framework aimed at better aligning token supply with network activity. Currently, there are 1.196 billion APT in circulation with no hard supply cap. The proposed changes include reducing the annual staking reward rate from 5.19% to 2.6%, nearly halving emissions. Longer staking commitments may receive relatively higher rewards within this reduced range.
For the first time, Aptos plans to implement a protocol-level hard cap of 2.1 billion APT. This would leave approximately 904 million tokens for future staking rewards, which are slated to decrease over time and potentially be phased out in favor of transaction fees funding validators. The four-year unlock cycle for early investors and core contributors concludes in October 2026, expected to reduce annualized supply unlocks by about 60%.
Additionally, the Aptos Foundation intends to permanently lock and stake 210 million APT, which will not be sold or distributed. Staking rewards from these locked tokens will fund Foundation operations. The network also proposes a tenfold increase in gas fees, with all transaction fees paid in APT and permanently burned. This is projected to significantly boost APT burns, especially with the upcoming launch of Decibel, an on-chain decentralized exchange designed to increase transaction volume and on-chain activity.
Future grants will adopt a performance-gated structure, vesting only upon achieving predefined milestones. The Foundation is also exploring a programmatic buyback mechanism funded by cash reserves or future revenue streams. These combined measures are designed to create conditions where APT burned through network activity could outpace new token issuance, potentially leading to a deflationary supply dynamic. All proposed changes are subject to governance and community approval.