Aptos locks 210M APT, overhauls tokenomics

6.6 Investments

Oct 8, 2026

Aptos locks 210M APT, cuts staking rewards, raises gas fees, and sets a hard cap, aiming for greater scarcity and security as monthly token releases drop by 60%.

The Aptos Foundation has unveiled a major tokenomics overhaul. Central to the update is the permanent locking and staking of 210 million APT tokens—about 18% of the circulating supply and 37% of the original mainnet allocation. These tokens will not be sold or distributed; instead, the Foundation will fund its operations through staking rewards, reducing potential market selling pressure. Other changes include lowering annual staking rewards from 5.19% to 2.6%, a tenfold increase in gas fees (with all fees to be burned), and the introduction of a hard cap of 2.1 billion APT tokens. These measures are designed to boost network security, increase token scarcity, and move APT toward a deflationary model. The overhaul coincides with the end of the four-year vesting schedule for early backers and core contributors, cutting monthly APT releases by about 60%, from 11.31 million to 4.54 million. Future Foundation grants will be tied to performance milestones, and only Community and Foundation pools will continue to receive monthly releases until 2032.