The Aptos Foundation has proposed a major overhaul of its tokenomics, shifting from an inflationary bootstrapping model to a performance-driven framework. APT traded near $0.88, down 4.5% on the day, continuing a broader downtrend from late-2025 highs. The plan introduces a hard supply cap of 2.1 billion tokens and will nearly halve annual staking rewards.
Aptos has announced a sweeping overhaul of its tokenomics, pivoting away from inflation-heavy incentives. The network is now transitioning toward supporting institutional-grade, high-throughput applications.
APT recently traded near $0.88, marking a 4.5% daily decline. This price action continues a broader downtrend where the token has lost more than half its value from late-2025 highs.
The foundation stated that its initial subsidy-heavy emissions phase, designed to bootstrap infrastructure, is now ending. According to the foundation, the proposed reforms aim to formalize this transition.
With 1.196 billion APT currently circulating, a major supply inflection point arrives in October 2026. Annual unlocks will be cut by roughly 60% as early investor vesting concludes.
Central to the proposal is a plan to reduce annual staking rewards from 5.19% to 2.6%. The foundation says it will also explore a redesigned staking framework to reward longer commitments.
For the first time, Aptos plans to set a protocol-level hard cap of 2.1 billion APT. This leaves 904 million tokens, about 43% of the total cap, available for future staking rewards.
In parallel, the foundation will permanently lock and stake 210 million APT, roughly 18% of today’s circulating supply. These tokens will never be sold, effectively removing them from liquid circulation.
Despite the scale of the changes, APT’s price has continued to slide with weak momentum into mid-February. Trading data suggests the market is currently prioritizing broader risk conditions.
The foundation positions the update as a long-duration shift rather than an immediate price catalyst. The market has yet to price in the proposed long-term supply tightening.
