Qubic (QUBIC) tokenomics

Qubic is a platform that utilizes Distributed Ledger Technology and smart contracts to facilitate decentralized computing and financial services, with a focus on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) through its Useful Proof of Work (UPoW) consensus mechanism. The native token, QUBIC, is central to the network's tokenomics, which is designed around a deflationary model balancing emissions with strategic burning mechanisms.

Issuance Mechanism and Supply Cap

The Qubic network employs a dynamic issuance model that is subject to community-driven adjustments to ensure long-term sustainability and scarcity.

• Emission Rate: Qubic currently emits 1 trillion QUBIC per week.
• Max Supply Reduction: The Qubic team implemented a significant reduction in the maximum supply from an initial hard cap of 1,000 trillion QUBIC (projected to be reached around 2041) to a new, strategic maximum supply of 200 trillion QUBIC. This represents an 80% cut aimed at value preservation.
• Emission Control: The emission schedule is designed to be adapted, incorporating an emission reduction method similar to traditional halvings, customized for Qubic. The emission smart contract takes token burns into account to guarantee the maximum supply cap.
• Circulating Supply: As of late 2024, the circulating supply was approximately 120 trillion QUBIC, meaning more than half of the new total supply is already in circulation.
• Supply Watcher: The network utilizes a "Supply Watcher" feature that can adjust burn rates based on real-time data, allowing emission and burn amounts to fluctuate to maintain network stability and supply balance.

Allocation Mechanism

While a detailed, percentage-based breakdown of the initial token allocation (e.g., for team, investors, or community) is not available, the allocation of newly emitted tokens and funds is managed through specific mechanisms:

• Computor Controlled Fund (CCF): A proposal was made to allocate 8% of weekly QUBIC emissions to the CCF. This fund acts as a community-driven treasury to support the growth and development of the Qubic ecosystem.
  • Governance: Computors (nodes) decide on the allocation of these funds through a smart contract-managed voting process.
  • Usage Examples: Funds from the CCF can be requested for various growth-oriented activities, including airdrops, core development team salaries, token listings on exchanges, and marketing activities.
  • Adjustment: Computors have the ability to adjust the 8% weekly emission allocation at any time to ensure sustainable funding without overwhelming the supply.
• Computor Rewards: A portion of newly minted QUBIC is allocated to Computors (validators) each epoch as rewards for their overall network participation, task execution, and involvement in quorum-based decision-making.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The QUBIC token is primarily used to power the network's core functions and incentivize participation, with a strong emphasis on deflationary mechanics.

Core Utility and Burning Mechanisms

The token is designed to be deflationary through multiple burning mechanisms:

• Feeless Transfers: Qubic offers fast, feeless transfers for micropayments.
• Smart Contract Execution: The execution of smart contracts consumes a significant amount of QUBIC, which is then burned.
• Smart Contract IPOs: Every smart contract is launched via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) model, where the costs for shares are burned. This model also enables passive income for smart contract shareholders.
• Oracles: Qubic's Oracles, which connect real-world data with smart contracts and AI models, play a key role in burning QUBIC.
• AI Usage (Aigarth): Using Aigarth, the AI built on top of Qubic, will consume and burn QUBIC in the future.
• QEarn Penalties: A portion of unearned rewards from early withdrawals in the QEarn staking program is burned, permanently reducing the overall supply.

Incentives for Network Participants

• Computors (Validators): Computors receive rewards in QUBIC for executing tasks, running smart contracts, and maintaining network integrity. A new Computor Reward System is planned to increase incentives for running Qubic on the best hardware.
• Smart Contract Shareholders: Shareholders of smart contracts can earn passive QUBIC income from the portion of burned QUBIC associated with the contract's usage. For example, the RANDOM smart contract burns QUBIC with each use, and a portion of that burned QUBIC is distributed as passive income to its shareholders.
• QEarn Stakers: The QEarn initiative incentivizes users to lock their QUBIC coins for attractive yields. Rewards are allocated upon unlocking, with higher potential Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for longer lock periods (up to 52 weeks).

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

The primary locking mechanism is the QEarn initiative, a community-led staking program designed to reduce the circulating supply and encourage long-term holding.

QEarn Locking Mechanism

• Locking Duration: Users lock QUBIC coins for a chosen duration, with maximum rewards reserved for those committing to the full 52-week period.
• Reward Pool: Each week, a percentage of the weekly emissions (e.g., 10% or 100 billion QUBIC) is allocated to a staking rewards pool, which is distributed among participants.
• Early Withdrawal Flexibility: Participants can unlock their coins at any time. However, withdrawing before the end of the staking commitment incurs withdrawal penalties, which impact their yield.
• Penalty Redistribution and Burning: When an early unlock occurs, unearned rewards are split: a portion is returned to the unlocking user, a portion is burned (contributing to deflation), and the remaining portion is redistributed to other participants in the same locking round, boosting their yields.
• Minimum Lock: Users can lock amounts ranging from 10 million QUBIC to 1 trillion QUBIC.

Unlocking Time

• Scheduled Unlocks: For participants who commit to the full 52-week lock, rewards are distributed in full at the end of the locking period.
• Early Unlocks: Rewards are adjusted based on the actual lock duration and are distributed immediately upon unlocking, subject to the penalty mechanism.

As of early 2025, QEarn had locked approximately 12.49 trillion QUBIC, representing nearly 11% of the circulating supply, demonstrating strong community adoption of the locking mechanism.