Circulating Supply
Circulating Supply
The circulating supply of ICNT tokens refers to the total amount of tokens that are actively available and tradable in the market. This includes tokens that are no longer locked in vesting contracts or staking mechanisms and are freely circulating among network participants.
The circulating supply plays a crucial role in the dynamics of the Impossible Cloud Network (ICN), influencing everything from the market price of the token to the incentives distributed to Hardware Providers (HPs), Service Providers (SPs), and Oracle Nodes.
Factors Influencing Circulating Supply
Initial Allocation and Vesting:
A portion of ICNT tokens is subject to vesting schedules for the founding team, investors, and early contributors. As these tokens vest and are released, they gradually increase the circulating supply.
Example: The team’s tokens are released over a period of 4 years, with a portion being unlocked every 12 months. This gradual release helps ensure stability in the token’s supply.
Token Minting:
Additional ICNT tokens may be minted in a controlled manner over time to meet the network's operational needs. Ideally, no additional minting occurs, but up to 300 million ICNT tokens may be minted over the first 5 years to support network growth scenarios.
For more details on token minting, visit the Token Minting page.
Burn Mechanisms:
In the future, burn mechanisms could be introduced as a way to decrease the circulating supply, reducing the overall token supply and potentially increasing scarcity. Burn mechanisms would involve permanently removing ICNT tokens from circulation by destroying them.
For more information, visit the Burn Mechanisms page.
Mathematical Representation of Circulating Supply
The circulating supply can be thought of as the sum of tokens held by various participants in the Impossible Cloud Network (ICN):
Circulating Supply = Unlocked Investor Tokens + Speculative Investors + Service Providers (SPs) + Hardware Providers (HPs) + SLA Providers
In this formula:
Unlocked Investor Tokens: Tokens that have been released from vesting schedules and are now in circulation.
Speculative Investors: Tokens held by speculative investors in the open market.
Service Providers (SPs): Tokens held by SPs, which they use to access network services.
Hardware Providers (HPs): Tokens earned by HPs for providing storage and compute resources.
SLA Providers: Tokens earned by SLA Oracles for monitoring the network.
Visual Representation of Circulating Supply
Below is a visual representation of the circulating supply of ICNT tokens as buckets, each representing different groups of token holders:
Why Circulating Supply Matters
The circulating supply of ICNT is a key metric that influences several aspects of the ICN ecosystem:
Market Dynamics: The circulating supply directly affects the market capitalisation and price of ICNT. As the supply of tokens increases or decreases, it can create fluctuations in the market price.
Liquidity: A larger circulating supply ensures more liquidity, making it easier for participants to trade ICNT and for the network to function efficiently.
Incentives and Rewards: The circulating supply affects the distribution of incentives and rewards to HPs, SPs, and Oracle Nodes, as rewards are provided in ICNT based on the available circulating tokens.
Network Growth: As the ICNT circulating supply grows, it signals the gradual decentralisation of the network, with more participants gaining access to tokens and contributing to the growth of the ICN ecosystem.
Last updated
