Stellar (XLM) tokenomics

The native asset of the Stellar network, Lumens (XLM), is central to the network's functionality and economic model. Stellar's token economics have undergone significant changes, notably the deprecation of inflation and a large token burn, resulting in a fixed supply.

Issuance Mechanism

The initial total supply of XLM was approximately 105 billion.

• Inflation Deprecation and Burn: Stellar initially had an annual supply inflation rate of 1.00%. This mechanism was deprecated on October 28, 2019, following a validator vote.
• Supply Reduction: On November 4, 2019, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced a massive burn of approximately 55 billion XLM, reducing the total token supply to approximately 50 billion XLM.
  • About 50 billion XLM were burned from the World Giveaway and Partner Giveaway allocations.
  • About 5 billion XLM were burned from the SDF operating fund.
• Current Supply: As of February 26, 2024, the total token supply is approximately 50 billion XLM.

Allocation Mechanism

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) manages the non-circulating supply of XLM, which is allocated across several categories to support the ecosystem's growth and development. As of February 26, 2024, the total circulating supply is approximately 28.47 billion XLM (56.94% of the total supply), with 21.53 billion XLM (43.06% of the total supply) remaining non-circulating.

The SDF's mandate discloses the following major allocation categories administered by the foundation:

Note: The SDF-controlled total of ~29.95 billion XLM is based on the SDF's explicit disclosures as of February 26, 2024, and may differ from the actual distribution.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

XLM serves several critical functions within the Stellar network, primarily focused on facilitating efficient financial transactions and securing the network against spam.

Primary Uses of XLM

• Medium of Exchange: XLM is used for sending and receiving value across the Stellar ecosystem and for converting/exchanging XLM for other tokens on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange (SDEX).
• Bridge Currency: XLM acts as a bridge currency to facilitate conversions between two different fiat currency stablecoins on the network when there is insufficient direct liquidity between them.
• Minimum Balance Requirement: Accounts must maintain a minimum XLM balance to prevent spam and maintain network integrity. As of February 26, 2024, the minimum balance is two base reserves, with one base reserve being 0.50 XLM. Validators can vote to change the base reserve amount.

Incentive Mechanisms

• No Direct Staking Rewards: Stellar uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), a form of Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA), which does not rely on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) or Proof-of-Work (PoW). Consequently, there are no monetary rewards for being a validator, and XLM tokenholders do not earn fees, additional tokens, or compensation simply by holding or interacting with the network.
• Ecosystem Incentives (SDF-Administered): The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) uses its allocated XLM to incentivize development and growth through:
  • Grants: Funding Infrastructure Grants and Research and Development Grants for projects building on Stellar.
  • Stellar Community Fund (SCF): Provides XLM grants to projects, with the broader community having the opportunity to vote on which projects receive funding. The voting mechanism, called Neural Quorum Governance, is a reputation-based system.
  • Bug Bounties: The SDF operates the Stellar Bug Bounty Program, offering XLM bounties for discovered vulnerabilities in the Stellar protocol or code repositories.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

For the XLM token itself, there is no general, user-facing locking or staking mechanism that rewards tokenholders for securing the network, as the consensus mechanism does not require staking.

However, a significant portion of the XLM supply is held in SDF-controlled allocations, some of which are subject to irregular unlock schedules, as seen in the historical data:

These historical unlocks, often described as "instant" with irregular schedules, indicate that large portions of the supply were released at specific points in time, often tied to the SDF's operational needs, giveaway programs, or escrow releases. The largest single unlock recorded was 25 billion XLM for Ecosystem Incentives on November 3, 2019.

While the data shows past unlock events, specific details regarding the locking mechanism and future unlocking times for the remaining non-circulating supply were not explicitly available. However, the top wallet addresses holding the non-circulating supply include:

• "SDF Use-Case Investment - Enterprise Fund": ~7.64 billion XLM (15.28% of total supply)
• "SDF User Acquisition - In-App Distribution": ~3.91 billion XLM (7.82% of total supply)
• "SDF Direct Development": ~3.90 billion XLM (7.80% of total supply)
• "Lightyear Option Agreement": ~3.35 billion XLM (6.70% of total supply)
• "SDF Escrow Jan 1 2023": ~3.00 billion XLM (6.00% of total supply)

These holdings suggest that the non-circulating supply is primarily held by the SDF for strategic, development, and operational purposes, with releases occurring at the discretion of the foundation or based on pre-determined escrow schedules.