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Token Mechanics

Detailed explanation of token minting, proposal execution, and onchain fund flows

Overview

How META tokens are minted, the proposal lifecycle, and onchain fund flows.

Proposal Lifecycle

Stage 1: Proposal Creation

Anyone can create a proposal that includes token minting. When a proposal is created:

  1. The proposal is published onchain with all details publicly visible
  2. The proposal specifies:
    • Number of tokens to mint (if any)
    • Recipient address for minted tokens
    • Purpose and rationale

Info: Public Visibility: All supply-increasing proposals are publicly announced the moment they are created onchain. There are no private or hidden proposals.

Stage 2: Stake Accumulation

Before a proposal can go live for trading:

  • 200,000 tokens (2% of initial 10M supply) must be staked on the proposal
  • Staking is permissionless - any token holder can stake
  • Stakes are returned after proposal is live for trading (no lockup or slashing risk)
  • This prevents spam proposals from consuming governance resources

Stage 3: Conditional Market Trading (3 Days)

Once sufficient stake is accumulated:

  1. Markets Open: The project moves half its spot liquidity into conditional markets
  2. Trading Period: Traders have 3 full days to trade in pass/fail markets
  3. Price Discovery: The market determines whether the proposal will increase or decrease token value
  4. Public Information: All trading activity is visible onchain in real-time

Warning: Investor Reaction Time: The 3-day trading period ensures investors have sufficient time to evaluate supply-increasing proposals and react before any new tokens enter circulation.

Stage 4: Resolution & Execution

After the 3-day trading period, the proposal is finalized using a TWAP-based mechanism:

Info: TWAP Finalization: Pass/fail decisions use a Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) with a lagging design to reduce manipulation. This ensures the final decision reflects sustained market sentiment, not last-minute price spikes.

Outcome Condition Result
Pass Pass market TWAP > Fail market TWAP Tokens minted, proposal executed
Fail Fail market TWAP ≥ Pass market TWAP No tokens minted, proposal rejected

Execution is automatic and immediate - once the TWAP calculation determines the outcome, there is no additional timelock. The governance executor performs the onchain mint instruction to the proposal-specified destination.

Timelock & Grace Periods

Is There a Delay Between Approval and Minting?

Note: No Additional Timelock: Once the 3-day trading period ends and the proposal passes, execution is immediate. The 3-day trading period itself serves as the grace period for investors to react.

The timeline for a token minting proposal:

Day 0: Proposal created (publicly visible)
       ↓
Day 0-X: Stake accumulation period (variable)
       ↓
Day X: Proposal goes live, markets open
       ↓
Day X+3: Trading period ends
       ↓
Day X+3: If passed, tokens minted immediately

Pre-Vote Announcement

Yes, all supply-increasing proposals are formally announced before trading begins:

  1. Proposal creation is an onchain transaction visible to all
  2. The stake accumulation period provides additional notice
  3. APIs and frontends display pending proposals
  4. Social channels typically discuss significant proposals

Inflation Structure

Is META an Infinite Issuance Model?

Warning: META is not hard-capped at the token-program level. In SPL tokens, a "hard cap" only exists if mint authority is permanently removed and cannot be re-established.

In the current model:

  • No hard cap is enforced by the token contract itself (so "infinite issuance" is possible in principle)
  • But issuance is gated by governance and must be publicly proposed and pass the futarchy mechanism before execution
  • The mint authority is the governance program — not a human operator
  • There is no "silent" or off-chain discretionary minting
Aspect Description
Hard Cap None at protocol level
Scheduled Inflation None - no automatic token emissions
Minting Authority Governance program only - not a human operator
Dilution Protection Market-based - proposals that harm value are rejected

Why No Hard Cap?

The governance-controlled model provides flexibility while maintaining accountability:

  1. Operational Funding: Projects may need to fund development, marketing, or operations
  2. Ecosystem Growth: Token incentives can attract users and liquidity
  3. Market Discipline: The futarchy system rejects proposals that would dilute value unfairly

The absence of a hard cap is offset by the requirement that all minting must be approved by market participants who have capital at risk.

Onchain Fund Flow

Where Do Minted Tokens Go?

When tokens are minted through a proposal, they are sent to an address specified in the proposal itself:

Proposal Specifies Recipient

The proposal creator defines the recipient address when creating the proposal. This could be: - A specific wallet address - A smart contract (e.g., vesting contract) - The project treasury - A multi-sig wallet

Address is Public

The recipient address is visible onchain from the moment the proposal is created. Anyone can verify where tokens will go before trading.

Tokens Minted Directly

Upon proposal passage, tokens are minted directly to the specified address. There is no intermediate custody contract.

Is the Recipient Address Fixed or Dynamic?

Note: Dynamic per Proposal: Each proposal specifies its own recipient address. There is no single fixed address that receives all minted tokens.

This means:

  • Different proposals can send tokens to different addresses
  • Investors can evaluate the recipient as part of their trading decision
  • Full transparency on the destination of all minted tokens

Onchain Flow Diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    PROPOSAL CREATED                         │
│  • Defines: mint amount, recipient address, purpose         │
│  • Publicly visible onchain                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    STAKE ACCUMULATION                       │
│  • 200,000 tokens staked (no lockup risk)                   │
│  • Variable duration                                        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 CONDITIONAL MARKETS (3 DAYS)                │
│  • Pass market: "value if proposal passes"                  │
│  • Fail market: "value if proposal fails"                   │
│  • All trades visible onchain                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│               TWAP-BASED FINALIZATION                       │
│  Pass TWAP > Fail TWAP?                                     │
│  ├─ YES → Governance executor mints to recipient            │
│  └─ NO  → No tokens minted, proposal rejected               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Supply verification and JSON-RPC fetch: Token Details.

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