Understanding the joi tokenomics
Last updated
Last updated
This article looks into the joi governance token ($joi) distribution to different participants of the joi platform and its ecosystem. This distribution is a pivotal step towards bringing joi to a decentralised, self-sustainable, and permissionless state. On-chain governance is another critical component of this goal.
The general purpose of a token-based governance system is to enable token-holders to guide protocol development. It is therefore important that the community can prepare to participate in token-holder governance so that they can shape the network in an informed manner.
With an industry-leading product ready, an innovative AI approach to managing a decentralised protocol and a strong forecasted trajectory of organic growth, joi is ready for the next phase of its evolution — handing over control to the community through the launch of the joi governance token ($joi).
$joi is a governance token that allows joi’s community to truly control & govern the joi protocol. By enabling shared control, $joi aligns incentives between traders, liquidity providers, and partners of joi. $joi enables a robust ecosystem around governance, rewards, and staking — each designed to drive future growth & decentralisation of the joi protocol.
Token Symbol: joi
Max Supply: 10,000,000,000
Initial Circulating Supply: 1,700,000,000 (17%)
Vesting: 83% of the joi tokens are initially locked and locked tokens will unlock over 44 months after the initial token launch.
Network: TBC
Token Address: TBC
A total of 10,000,000,000 $joi have been minted, and will become accessible over 44 months. The initial allocation of the total supply of $joi is as follows:
20% Participation Rewards — 2,000,000,000 joi
44% Ecosystem Growth — 4,400,000,000 joi
15% Protocol Development — 1,500,000,000 joi
6% Community and Launch — 600,000,000 joi
15% Private Sales — 1,500,000,000 jo
Below is the joi token distribution table of locked and unlocked joi tokens. There are 10,000,000,000 joi tokens and this total supply will not increase. Furthermore, 83% of the tokens are initially contractually locked. Locked tokens unlock over 44 months after token launch. This schedule is designed to produce a gradual increase of the unlocked token supply over time. The remaining 15% of joi tokens are initially unlocked. The supply of both locked and unlocked tokens are allocated per the categories shown
20% — 2,000,000,000 joi
This allocation is reserved for the joi platform liquidity providers, or participants.
The participants are users backing strategies and providing liquidity to decentralised trading platforms through the joi platform. The “Participants Rewards” allocation consists of reserved tokens for various reward mechanisms and programs to encourage participants to back strategies. This is designed to encourage more participants to support new small cap tokens, token launch’s, and DEXs which may lack the initial liquidity to trade in efficient markets.
There are already rewards mechanisms and programs in place to incentivise participants to back strategies so that joi can create liquid and efficient markets on decentralised trading platforms.
5% (100M) of the 2B joi tokens are unlocked. The remaining joi tokens (1.9B) are subject to the vesting schedule described. Note that these rewards can only be distributed to participants once they are unlocked.
44% — 4,400,000,000 joi
The ecosystem growth allocation is a strategic portion of tokens set aside for contributors to the joi ecosystem, including developers, educators, researchers, strategic contributors, early participants, and more.
This allocation aims to facilitate practical initiatives including funding research projects aimed at advancing the joi ecosystem, incentivising developers to build complementary tooling and resources, and supporting public education programs to increase awareness. This allocation aims to recognise and reward individuals and organisations that go beyond the core contributors in fostering the expansion and vitality of the joi ecosystem.
~13% (600M) of the 4.4B joi tokens are unlocked. The remaining tokens (3.8B) are subject to the unlock schedule described.
15% — 1,500,000,000 joi
This portion of the token supply has been allocated to core contributors focused on building programmatic trading tooling, products, and infrastructure to expand the ecosystem of decentralised trading strategies, such as Alethieum.
~ 16% (250M) of the 1.5B joi tokens are unlocked. The remaining tokens (1.25b) are subject to the unlock schedule described.
6% — 600,000,000 joi
This portion of joi tokens is set aside for the initial launch phase and related activities and initiatives.
All 600M joi tokens of community and launch allocation will be unlocked from day one.
15% — 1,500,000,000 joi
This category represents two funding rounds to strategic contributors who add value to joi in terms of advisory and infrastructure support.
10% (150M) of the 1.5B joi tokens are unlocked. The remaining tokens (1.35b) are subject to the unlock schedule described.
joi governance tokens grants holders the right to propose and vote on changes to the platform. joi governance supports voting based on token holdings.
Proposals must pass a given threshold and percent of yes votes based on the type of proposal. joi tokens can be used to make or vote on governance proposals, or be delegated to other Ethereum addresses.
joi holders will have immediate and irreversible control over:
Allocating ecosystem growth funds
New token listings on the platform
Risk parameters for the platform
Capital allocations to DEXs in strategies
Adding new DEX strategies to the platform
Determining safety strategy payouts in the event of a loss
Changing any of the rewards and strategies existing at launch
Governance contracts themselves
There are four types of proposals with different parameters that affect the length and execution of a proposal. An executor must validate each type of proposal:
The Short timelock executor can execute proposals that generally change Rewards and Incentive contracts or the ecosystem growth funds that require quick intervention.
The Long timelock executor can execute proposals that change parts of the joi ecosystem that affect governance consensus.
The initial governance parameters are as follows:
Overview of the joi improvement proposal (jip) lifecycle.
After an on-chain jip is created, the proposal enters a pending state for a period defined by the voting delay, which is currently configured to 6570 blocks or approximately 1 day (assuming 13.2 seconds per block). In other words, user snapshots are recorded 1 day after the jip is created, at which point the proposal transitions to an active state.
After the voting delay, the voting period is activated. The voting period length depends on the proposal type.
The following chart shows a jip state flowchart:
Token Symbol: joi
Max Supply: 10,000,000,000
Initial Circulating Supply: 1,700,000,000 (17%)
Vesting: 83% of the joi tokens are initially locked and locked tokens will unlock over 44 months after the initial token launch.
Network: TBC
Token Address: TBC
The development of joi tokenomics underwent a meticulous process grounded in rigorous research and sophisticated economic modelling, complemented by advanced data analysis techniques. Our approach was driven by the recognition that tokenomics isn’t solely about initial value creation but also about sustaining and enhancing value over time, thereby fostering a resilient ecosystem resistant to market pressures while fostering a virtuous cycle of growth.
Central to our methodology was the dual objective of creating value and promoting utility while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem through transparent governance mechanisms. By fostering transparency, we aimed to empower our community with the knowledge and tools necessary to actively participate in governance decisions, thereby fostering a more inclusive and democratic ecosystem.
In addition to the exhaustive research outlined below, we employed agent-based modelling to simulate various scenarios and analyse the distribution of governance tokens following different types of fair launches. This approach provided valuable insights into the potential implications of different distribution mechanisms on governance dynamics and community engagement.
Expected Outcomes:
Increased Transparency in Governance: By embedding transparency into our tokenomics design, we aimed to enhance the visibility of governance processes, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions and actively contribute to the evolution of the ecosystem.
Resilient Ecosystem: Through careful economic modeling and stress testing, we sought to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities in our tokenomics, ensuring the resilience of the ecosystem against external shocks and internal pressures.
Community Empowerment: By leveraging insights from our research, we aimed to empower our community with the knowledge and tools necessary to actively participate in governance decisions, fostering a sense of ownership and collective responsibility for the future direction of the project.
Research Sources:
Exploring the DeFi Tokenomics Landscape — https://threesigma.xyz/blog/defi-tokenomics-landscape
On Tokenomics Series Part II — The Game of Supply and Demand: The Demand — https://threesigma.xyz/blog/on-tokenomics-supply-and-demand-part-ii
On Tokenomics Series Part I — The Game of Supply and Demand: The Supply — https://threesigma.xyz/blog/on-tokenomics-supply-and-demand-part1
Research: Analyzed 5000 Token Unlocks — https://6thman.ventures/writing/we-analyzed-5000-token-unlocks-this-is-what-we-found/
Github repository includes the data, data processing pipeline, analysis notebook, and utility functions used to analyse token unlocks — https://github.com/6th-Man-Ventures/token-vesting
Tokenomics Stress-testing — https://demo.cenit.finance/
Stress Testing Tokenomics for a Successful Launch — https://www.cenit.finance/blog/stress-testing-tokenomics-for-a-successful-launch
Research Scope:
Our research encompassed a diverse range of protocols, including but not limited to: 1inch Network, Aave, Abracadabra, Alchemix, Angle, Ankr, ApolloX, Astroport, Balancer, Beethoven X, Benqi, Burrow, Camelot, Chainlink, Cream Finance, Compound, Convex Finance, Curve Finance, DeFi Kingdoms, dForce, dYdX, Ellipsis Finance, Euler Finance, Frax Finance, Gains Network, GMX, Hashflow, Hegic, HMX, Hundred Finance, IPOR, Lido, Liquity, Lyra, MakerDAO, Mars Protocol, Moneta DAO (DeFi Franc), MUX Protocol, Notional, Osmosis, Orca, PancakeSwap, Perpetual Protocol, Planet, Platypus Finance, Premia, Prisma Finance, QiDao (Mai Finance), Reflexer, Ribbon Finance, Rocket Pool, Solidly Labs, SpookySwap, StakeDAO, StakeWise, Starlay Finance, SushiSwap, Synapse, Tarot, Tectonic, Thales, Thena, Uniswap, UwU Lend, Velodrome, XDeFi, Yearn Finance, Y2K Finance, Yeti Finance.
It is important to note that while the listed protocols represent a significant cross-section of the DeFi landscape, they are not exhaustive. Instead, they were selected based on their innovative token mechanisms or variations, offering valuable insights into emerging trends and best practices in the DeFi space.
We can’t wait to hear what you think! Feel free to join the joi Discord and Telegram, and follow joi on X.