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:
- The proposal is published onchain with all details publicly visible
- The proposal specifies:
- Number of tokens to mint (if any)
- Recipient address for minted tokens
- Purpose and rationale
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:
Markets Open
Trading Period
Price Discovery
Public Information
Stage 4: Resolution & Execution
After the 3-day trading period, the proposal is finalized using a TWAP-based mechanism:
| 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?
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:
- Proposal creation is an onchain transaction visible to all
- The stake accumulation period provides additional notice
- APIs and frontends display pending proposals
- Social channels typically discuss significant proposals
Inflation Structure
Is META an Infinite Issuance Model?
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:
Operational Funding
Ecosystem Growth
Market Discipline
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?
This means:
- Different proposals can send tokens to different addresses
- Participants 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.