Tokenomics
Axiom's economic model is deterministic, transparent, and immutable. Every AXM enters circulation through proof-of-work mining with no exceptions.
Key Metrics
Supply Policy
Axiom's total supply asymptotically approaches approximately 5,000,000 AXM. There is no hard cap in the traditional sense -- instead, block rewards decay smoothly toward a permanent floor of 0.0001 AXM, meaning new coins are always produced at a negligible rate. The vast majority of the supply (~99.98%) is mined within the first year.
The supply curve is determined entirely by consensus rules encoded in the protocol. No entity, foundation, or governance vote can alter the emission schedule without a network-wide hard fork accepted by a majority of miners and nodes.
Reward Model
Smooth Exponential Decay
Block rewards follow a continuous exponential decay function rather than abrupt halvings. The formula is:
reward = 50 * e^(-0.0000487 * height)This produces a gradual, predictable decline in new supply -- no sudden shocks to miner revenue or network security.
Reward Floor
At approximately block height 1,312,000, the computed reward drops below 0.0001 AXM. From that point forward, the reward is clamped to a permanent floor of 0.0001 AXM per block.
This floor ensures that miners always receive a non-zero coinbase reward, maintaining a baseline incentive to secure the network indefinitely.
Emission Schedule
| Block Height | Reward | Elapsed Time | Cumulative Supply |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50 AXM | Genesis | 50 AXM |
| 10,000 | 47.581 AXM | ~3.5 days | ~488,000 AXM |
| 50,000 | 30.327 AXM | ~17 days | ~1,950,000 AXM |
| 100,000 | 18.394 AXM | ~35 days | ~3,160,000 AXM |
| 200,000 | 6.738 AXM | ~69 days | ~4,320,000 AXM |
| 500,000 | 0.335 AXM | ~174 days | ~4,900,000 AXM |
| 1,000,000 | 0.002 AXM | ~347 days | ~4,990,000 AXM |
| 1,312,000+ | 0.0001 AXM (floor) | ~455 days | ~5,000,000 AXM |
Fee Model
Fee-Based Prioritization
Transaction fees are denominated in satoshis per byte (sat/byte). Miners select transactions from the mempool based on fee density, creating a market-determined prioritization mechanism. There is no protocol-mandated minimum fee -- during low-demand periods, near-zero fee transactions are routinely confirmed.
Long-Term Security Budget
As block rewards decay toward the 0.0001 AXM floor, transaction fees become the primary component of miner revenue. The 4 MB block size limit provides sufficient throughput capacity for fee revenue to sustain network security as the chain matures and adoption grows.
Distribution
100% Proof-of-Work Distribution
Every AXM that enters circulation is earned through proof-of-work mining. There are no privileged parties, no insider allocations, and no vesting schedules. The genesis block contains a single 50 AXM coinbase reward, identical to every other block at height zero. Anyone with a CPU can mine from day one on equal footing.
Economic Sustainability
Axiom's smooth exponential decay avoids the abrupt halving events seen in Bitcoin and its derivatives. Rather than cutting miner revenue by 50% overnight every four years, Axiom's reward decreases by a fraction of a percent each block. This produces a predictable, gradual transition that gives miners, markets, and infrastructure operators time to adjust without sudden economic shocks.
The 4 MB block size limit balances throughput and decentralization. As block rewards diminish, the fee market within these blocks provides the economic foundation for long-term network security. Larger blocks accommodate more transactions and more total fee revenue without requiring Layer 2 solutions for basic payment use cases.
The minimum reward floor of 0.0001 AXM per block ensures that the coinbase incentive never reaches zero. While this floor is economically negligible, it serves as a protocol-level guarantee that mining always produces a non-zero reward, preserving the incentive structure even in the theoretical absence of transaction fees.