Tokenomics
DUSK is the native token used for transaction fees (gas) and staking on the Dusk network.
If you hold ERC20/BEP20 DUSK (on Ethereum/BSC), follow the mainnet migration guide to move it to Dusk mainnet.
For economic model rationale and assumptions, see the Economic Protocol Design report.
Quick facts
Section titled “Quick facts”- Symbol: DUSK
- Decimals (Dusk mainnet): 9 (
1 DUSK = 1,000,000,000 LUX) - Decimals (ERC20/BEP20 DUSK): 18 (see migration guide)
- Supply model: 500,000,000 initial + 500,000,000 emitted over time (max 1,000,000,000)
- Live supply: see supply.dusk.network
What DUSK is used for
Section titled “What DUSK is used for”- Gas: pay for transactions and on-chain execution.
- Staking: secure the network and earn rewards.
Fees and gas
Section titled “Fees and gas”Every transaction consumes gas (a unit of work). Fees are paid in DUSK.
- You set a gas limit and a gas price (in
LUX). - The fee paid is
gas_used * gas_price. - Unused gas is not charged.
- If a transaction runs out of gas, it reverts, but the gas spent is still paid.
Collected fees are part of the block reward and are redistributed (see Incentives).
Staking parameters
Section titled “Staking parameters”For the user-facing flow, see Staking on Dusk.
- Minimum stake: 1,000 DUSK
- Maximum stake: no upper bound
- Activation: at the epoch boundary after the next one; between roughly 1 and 2 epochs depending on submission height
- Unstaking: no protocol waiting period; a partial position must retain the minimum stake
- Adding to stake (top-ups): see Adding to an existing stake
Incentives
Section titled “Incentives”Each block has a block reward consisting of:
- newly emitted DUSK (see Token emission), and
- all transaction fees paid in that block.
Reward distribution:
- Block generator: 70% + up to an extra 10% (based on credits included in the certificate; any undistributed portion is burned)
- Development fund: 10%
- Validation committee: 5%
- Ratification committee: 5%
Token emission
Section titled “Token emission”The network emits a total of 500,000,000 DUSK over 36 years to fund staking rewards.
Emissions follow a geometric decay model with reduction rate r = 0.5 (halving every 4 years).
Emission schedule (by period)
| Period (Years) | Period Duration (Blocks) | Total Emission (DUSK) | Total Supply (Cumulative) | Emission Per Block | Reduction Rate (r) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (0-4) | 12,614,400 | 250.48M | 250.48M | 19.8574 | N/A |
| 2 (4-8) | 12,614,400 | 125.24M | 375.72M | 9.9287 | 0.5 |
| 3 (8-12) | 12,614,400 | 62.62M | 438.34M | 4.9644 | 0.5 |
| 4 (12-16) | 12,614,400 | 31.31M | 469.65M | 2.4822 | 0.5 |
| 5 (16-20) | 12,614,400 | 15.65M | 485.30M | 1.2411 | 0.5 |
| 6 (20-24) | 12,614,400 | 7.83M | 493.13M | 0.6206 | 0.5 |
| 7 (24-28) | 12,614,400 | 3.91M | 497.04M | 0.3103 | 0.5 |
| 8 (28-32) | 12,614,400 | 1.95M | 498.99M | 0.1551 | 0.5 |
| 9 (32-36) | 12,614,400 | 0.98M | 499.97M | 0.0776 | 0.5 |
Slashing
Section titled “Slashing”Dusk distinguishes between soft and hard consensus penalties:
- Soft penalties apply to failed participation. They can suspend the provisioner and move part of active stake into locked stake. Locked stake does not participate but remains owned by the staker.
- Hard penalties apply to provably invalid consensus behavior, such as invalid votes or signing conflicting proposals or votes. They suspend the provisioner and can burn part of its stake.
Run supported software, keep the node synchronized, and never run the same consensus key on multiple active nodes. See Slashing prevention and recovery.
Token versions and contracts
Section titled “Token versions and contracts”Native DUSK is the mainnet token. ERC20 and BEP20 DUSK exist on other chains for migration and bridging.
| Chain | Standard | Contract address |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | ERC20 | 0x940a2db1b7008b6c776d4faaca729d6d4a4aa551 |
| BSC | BEP20 | 0xb2bd0749dbe21f623d9baba856d3b0f0e1bfec9c |
Markets
Section titled “Markets”For up-to-date markets and trading venues, see:
Historical allocation (initial supply)
Section titled “Historical allocation (initial supply)”The vesting period ran from May 2019 to April 2022.
Allocation and vesting table
| Allocation Category | Percentage | DUSK Tokens | Vested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Token Sale | 50% | 250,000,000 | 250,000,000 |
| Team | 6.4% | 32,000,000 | 32,000,000 |
| Advisors | 6.4% | 32,000,000 | 32,000,000 |
| Development | 18.1% | 90,500,000 | 90,500,000 |
| Exchange | 11.8% | 59,000,000 | 59,000,000 |
| Marketing | 7.3% | 36,500,000 | 36,500,000 |
| Total | 100% | 500,000,000 | 500,000,000 |