Tokenomics
AIC token supply, distribution, utility, and economic model.
Overview
The protocol introduces a native token (AIC) designed to align incentives between:
- developers building AI-powered applications
- users consuming AI inference
- infrastructure providers supplying compute
- long-term contributors and early supporters
The core principle of the model is usage-driven value capture: paid inference requests move value through the protocol and fund long-term network growth.
Token Utility
Primary utility targets the actual network loop (demand, settlement, incentives):
-
Staking — AIC holders stake to participate in protocol-aligned incentives and share in network economics.
-
Payment discounts — Staking AIC unlocks reduced inference rates vs stablecoin-only payments, creating demand tied to usage.
-
Governance — AIC holders participate in governance over protocol parameters (fees, onboarding, treasury policy, upgrades) via on-chain voting (
ERC20Votes). -
Agent economy — The protocol is designed for machine-to-machine payments: autonomous software can hold assets, pay for inference, and participate in incentives.
Total Supply
Total supply is fixed at genesis — no minting after deployment:
1,000,000,000 AIC
Distribution
| Category | Allocation | Tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Presale | 50% | 500,000,000 |
| Ecosystem | 15% | 150,000,000 |
| Treasury | 15% | 150,000,000 |
| Team | 10% | 100,000,000 |
| Liquidity + infrastructure incentives | 10% | 100,000,000 |
Presale Rounds
Pricing increases across 7 phases. Each phase is triggered by cumulative USDC raised (not time). When a phase's raise cap is hit, the price advances to the next phase automatically.
| Phase | Price | Raise Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0.010 / AIC | $0 – $500k |
| 2 | $0.013 / AIC | $500k – $1M |
| 3 | $0.020 / AIC | $1M – $2M |
| 4 | $0.028 / AIC | $2M – $3.5M |
| 5 | $0.038 / AIC | $3.5M – $5M |
| 6 | $0.053 / AIC | $5M – $6M |
| 7 | $0.070 / AIC | $6M – $7M |
At the hard cap ($7M raised), AIC will have been sold at an average of ~$0.014.
Vesting and Claims
Presale buyers receive AIC in three tranches:
| Unlock | Cumulative |
|---|---|
| TGE (Token Generation Event) | 30% |
| TGE + 90 days | 65% |
| TGE + 180 days | 100% |
Claims are handled entirely on-chain via the ClaimModule contract. Buyers call ClaimModule.claim() using the wallet they bought with. The contract calculates claimable amount automatically based on elapsed time since TGE.
Fund Routing
Every USDC contribution is split at the PresaleVault level:
| Vault | Allocation | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| LiquidityVault | 70% | Launch liquidity provisioning (DEX) |
| DevRunwayVault | 15% | Engineering budget (dual-gated stream) |
| TeamStreamVault | 10% | Team compensation (linear stream) |
| MarketingVault | 5% | GTM spend (locked until finalization) |
At hard cap ($7M raised): liquidity vault receives $4.9M USDC — providing substantial depth at token launch and reducing immediate sell pressure.
Staking Discount Tiers
Planned inference discount schedule for AIC stakers:
| Staked AIC | Discount | Effective rate (at $0.001/s default) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | $0.001000 / sec |
| ≥ 1,000 | 10% | $0.000900 / sec |
| ≥ 10,000 | 20% | $0.000800 / sec |
| ≥ 50,000 | 35% | $0.000650 / sec |
| ≥ 200,000 | 50% | $0.000500 / sec |
This creates a direct utility loop: buy AIC in presale → stake in inference app → reduce inference costs → stake more to reduce further.