Solana (SOL) tokenomics

The Solana (SOL) token is the native asset of the Solana Layer-1 blockchain, serving as the fundamental unit for network security, transaction processing, and ecosystem participation. Its token economics are designed around a disinflationary issuance schedule combined with a burning mechanism for transaction fees to manage supply over the long term.

Issuance Mechanism

Solana utilizes a disinflationary inflation schedule to issue new SOL tokens. This schedule is characterized by three key parameters:

• Initial Inflation Rate: The starting annual inflation rate when issuance is first enabled.
• Disinflation Rate: The rate at which the inflation rate is reduced annually. This reduction is set at 15.00% per "epoch year" (approximately 360 days).
• Long-term Inflation Rate: The stable, fixed annual inflation rate that the protocol aims to reach, which is 1.50%.

The protocol automatically creates new tokens according to this predetermined schedule. The Effective Inflation Rate accounts for the concurrent elimination of tokens through burning mechanisms, which reduces the total current supply.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial distribution of SOL tokens included allocations to the project team, the Solana Foundation, and a Community Reserve Fund.

Key initial allocations included:

• Project Team: Approximately 63.95 million SOL (about 12.79% of the initial token supply).
• Solana Foundation: Approximately 52.30 million SOL (about 10.46% of the initial token supply).
• Community Reserve Fund: Approximately 194.45 million SOL (about 38.89% of the initial token supply). This fund is managed by the Solana Foundation to support ecosystem initiatives like the Delegation and Grants programs.
• Public Auction Sale: 8.00 million SOL (about 1.46% of the initial token supply) were sold in a public auction in March 2020 at $0.22 per token.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

SOL is primarily a utility token with multiple functions that incentivize network participation and secure the chain:

1. Transaction Fees and Burning

Users pay transaction fees in SOL for sending transactions and executing smart contracts. These fees consist of a static base fee plus a variable fee based on computational resources used.

• Fee Distribution: Historically, 50.00% of all transaction fees were distributed to validators as staking rewards, and the other 50.00% were burned.
• Proposed Change (SIMD-0096): A governance proposal approved in May 2024 aims to send 100% of all network transaction fees in a given block to the validator that was the Slot Leader. As of December 2024, this update was pending activation on the mainnet.

2. Staking and Rewards

Solana operates on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism where SOL holders can stake their tokens to secure the network and earn rewards.

• Validator Rewards: Validators receive inflationary SOL rewards pro rata based on the proportion of total staked tokens (including delegated tokens). They also receive a portion of transaction fees (or potentially all of them, pending the SIMD-0096 update).
• Delegation: Tokenholders can delegate SOL to existing validators to earn a portion of the validator's rewards, minus any commission set by the validator. There are no documented minimums or maximums for delegation.
• Rent: Accounts that maintain an owner-controlled state (data) are charged "rent" in SOL to compensate validators for storage. As of December 2024, 100.00% of all rent fees are burned, with validators receiving 0.00%.

3. Governance

The network uses a Feature Proposal process for activating network changes, which is performed solely by validators. SOL tokens are not directly used for voting. Instead, tokens representing the total active stake are minted and distributed to validators based on their stake weight, and validators use these vote tokens to approve or reject feature activations.

4. Ecosystem Development

The Solana Foundation uses the Community Reserve Fund to support ecosystem growth through initiatives such as:

• The Delegation Program.
• Bug Bounties (with rewards up to 25,000 SOL).
• Solana Hackathons.
• A $10.00 million Artificial Intelligence (AI) Fund for grants up to $25,000.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Schedule

Token locking mechanisms on Solana primarily relate to staking and initial allocations.

Staking Lock-up

When users stake SOL, the tokens are locked to secure the network. Unstaking requires a cooldown period, which can affect liquidity.

Initial Allocation Vesting

Initial allocations to the project team and the Solana Foundation were subject to vesting schedules. For instance, half of the founders' allocations were unlocked at launch, with the remainder unlocking monthly over the following 24 months.

Future Unlock Events (Alameda/FTX Agreements)

Significant future unlocks are tied to agreements made between the Solana Foundation/Solana Labs and Alameda Research/FTX entities. These unlocks are scheduled to occur in large batches in 2025 and through linear monthly releases until 2029.

The following table details the scheduled future unlocks for SOL tokens:

In addition to these linear monthly unlocks, two major full unlocks are scheduled for 2025:

• March 1, 2025: Full unlock of 7.5 million SOL from an agreement with Alameda Research Ventures Ltd.
• May 17, 2025: Full unlock of 61.85 million SOL from another agreement with Alameda Research Ventures Ltd.

These large, single-day unlocks in 2025 are expected to introduce a significant supply surge into the market.