What is token emission schedule?

A token emission schedule is the plan that states how many new tokens a network or project creates over time and who receives them. It might release a fixed amount per block, halve over the years, or follow a curve. It matters because the rate of new supply affects price pressure, rewards for participants and how much existing holders are diluted.

How it works

Each period, the schedule adds new tokens to the circulating supply. Circulating supply at time t is the earlier supply plus emissions, minus anything burned or locked. A constant schedule adds the same number each period, so growth in percent terms slows. A halving schedule cuts emissions at set intervals, which front-loads supply. A decaying schedule reduces emissions smoothly.

The trade-off is between rewarding early participants and protecting value. High early emission attracts users but dilutes holders, and if demand does not grow as fast as supply, the price tends to fall. Too little emission may leave too little incentive to take part at all.

Example

Say a project starts with 100 million tokens and emits 10 million in year one. Emissions then fall by 20% each year: 8 million in year two, 6.4 million in year three. Supply after three years is 100 + 10 + 8 + 6.4 = 124.4 million. Annual inflation is 10% in year one, 7.3% in year two (8 on 110) and 5.4% in year three (6.4 on 118). If demand for tokens stays flat, each token represents a shrinking share. These are illustrative numbers.

How to model it in Machinations

Use a Source to create tokens, with its rate set by a Register that applies the decay or halving formula over time. Send them into a Pool for circulating supply. Make the starting emission and decay rate Levers, and chart the Pool plus a Register for inflation percent. Play over many steps and change the decay Lever to see how the supply curve flattens or steepens.