Aptos Foundation Announces Radical Reform Plan: Reduces APT Annual Emissions by 60%

As top financial institutions like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Apollo pour millions of dollars into the crypto ecosystem, Aptos Foundation has recognized an urgent issue—the existing tokenomics model no longer meets the needs of ecosystem growth. Recently, the foundation proposed an ambitious reform plan, a systematic overhaul of the APT token economy aimed at achieving true deflation.

From Subsidy Model to Activity-Driven: Strategic Considerations for Reform

This reform addresses a fundamental problem: the ecosystem currently relies on subsidy mechanisms to sustain development, grants, and staking rewards, which leads to continuous token dilution. The foundation stated in its announcement, “If the current model continues, APT emissions will be endless—without strict caps, without linkage to productivity, and without connection to real network activity.”

This situation often results in large unlock events putting pressure on the market. However, the foundation also noted that with the completion of another four-year cycle in October, the impact of unlocks has been gradually diminishing. Ultimately, these reforms will reduce APT’s annual emissions by 60%.

Core Measure 1: Supply Cap and Emission Structure

The primary goal of the reform is to set a supply limit of 210 million APT. Currently, no such cap exists—there are approximately 780 million APT in circulation (latest data), with new tokens continuously being created. Introducing this supply cap effectively establishes a final boundary for token scarcity, which is crucial for long-term market confidence.

Core Measure 2: Redesign of Staking Incentives

The Aptos team proposes lowering the annual staking yield—from the current 5.19% to 2.6%. While this may seem unfavorable to participants, there are deeper considerations: this is a balanced approach to reduce emission pressure while rewarding long-term loyal participants. To support this, the foundation plans to increase rewards for long-term locked tokens, allowing the most dedicated ecosystem builders to earn better returns.

Core Measure 3: Building Multi-Dimensional Deflationary Pressure

The reform also includes key measures such as:

Tenfold Increase in Gas Fees: Transaction fees will be increased ten times. The foundation believes that even with this increase, transaction costs on Aptos will remain competitively low. Since these fees are permanently burned, this will generate an additional deflationary effect.

Permanent Token Lockup: The foundation suggests permanently locking 210 million APT in staking, which in economic terms is equivalent to burning these tokens. The proceeds from these lockups will be used for the foundation’s operational funding.

Tightening Grant Policies: To ensure effective use of funds, new policies will impose strict Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on all grant recipients, with funding only awarded to projects that deliver tangible results.

Potential Buyback Program: The Aptos team is exploring establishing a dedicated fund or initiating an APT buyback plan to balance token supply in the market.

Immediate Market Reaction and Price Trends

Following the announcement of these reforms, APT dropped by 4.1%. Over a longer period, the token had nearly a 46% decline in the past month. Currently, the token trades at around $0.93, with a 24-hour decrease of 2.02%.

Deeper Implications Behind Ecosystem Adjustments

These reforms reflect the maturation of the Aptos ecosystem—from an initial reliance on subsidies to a more self-sustaining model. The influx of institutional capital necessitates a more sustainable token economy, where APT must demonstrate genuine scarcity rather than continuous supply growth.

It’s worth noting that similar waves of reform are occurring elsewhere in the crypto ecosystem. At the end of last year, the Uniswap community approved the “UNIfication” proposal, introducing a “fee switch” mechanism that reallocates part of the trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol itself. This indicates that as ecosystems develop, rebalancing economic models has become a common industry requirement.