KNC Tokenomics & Utility

Kyber Network Crystal

KNC Token

For an overview of KNC, please visit the KNC Token overview page.

KNC Distribution

KNC Initial Coin Offering

On 16th September 2017, Kyber concluded its KNC ICO token sale raising 200,000ETH on the Ethereum Mainnet. A total of 21,309 unique addresses participated in the token sale which was a significant proportion of Ethereum users at the time. 226,000,000 KNC was minted and distributed accordingly:

  • Community investors and participants: 61.06% (137,995,600 KNC)

  • Company operational reserves: 19.47% (44,002,200 KNC)

  • Founders, advisors, early investors (2-year vesting, 1-year lock-up): 19.47% (44,002,200 KNC)

Following the claim period for community and investors, a total of 10,374,651.16 KNC was burned. This brought the KNC max supply down to 215,625,348.84 KNC following the completion of the ICO.

By the end of September 2019, all vested KNC tokens for founders, advisors, and early investors was unlocked and distributed.

KNC Token Migration

With ongoing advancements in token designs, the Kyber team proposed a KNC token upgrade and migration to make KNC much more dynamic and flexible with the ability to support more efficient upgrades, while amplifying KyberDAO’s governance power. This was approved by the KyberDAO in KIP-6 and the migration process began on 20th April 2021.

The previous KNC token was renamed KNCL (KNC Legacy) with the newly created token maintaining the KNC ticker. Previously, from ICO date through to the migration date, a total of 5,374,386.84 KNCL was burned as part of the initial design whereby KNCL gets burned whenever trades go through the protocol. Consequently, the new KNC was allocated a max supply of 210,250,962 KNC.

KNCL remains convertible to KNC at a 1:1 rate here.

KyberDAO Ecosystem Growth Fund

To increase active liquidity for KNC, the KyberDAO voted to mint an additional 42,050,588 KNC (16.67% of new KNC supply) which would be distributed via the KyberDAO Ecosystem Growth Fund (KIP-8 and KIP-9). This mint was completed on 15 June 2021 resulting in a new max supply of 252,301,550 KNC.

Present Day

As of 27 October 2023:

You can also find more information about our KNC token contracts and the relevant audits on our Docs.

KNC Token Framework

The KNC token framework serves as an important guidepost ensuring that KNC remains a vital element securing the decentralization and sustainability of the KyberSwap Ecosystem. By aligning governance and product incentives, the KNC token framework intends to generate ever greater adoption of KNC through synergistic ecosystem growth.

The KyberSwap Ecosystem is composed of a myriad of stakeholders, each contributing to the KyberSwap network in various ways. Some obvious examples are:

  • KNC Token Holders: Stake their KNC tokens in the KyberDAO to vote on the future of KNC. All changes must receive a majority vote via KIPs (Kyber Improvement Proposals) prior to being implemented.

  • Third Party Developers & Integrators: Individuals or teams building on top of the KyberSwap ecosystem. By leveraging superior rates from KyberSwap, such integrators are also significantly expanding KyberSwap’s market depth and consequently facilitate trade volume.

  • Traders & Liquidity Providers: Facilitates the seamless trading of tokens, including KNC, via KyberSwap. Ranging from market makers to users conducting a single trade, the aggregate effect of their actions result in a vibrant market for token swaps.

Given the multitude of user profiles, each with their own objectives, the ultimate goal of the KNC token framework is to steer development towards long-term ecosystem growth. This means aligning individual stakeholder objectives to drive KIPs which will increase KNC’s reach through lasting utility.

KNC Utility

Governance Rights

KNC holders who stake their tokens gain voting power within KyberDAO, enabling them to vote on KIPs (Kyber Improvement Proposals) and influence key decisions that steer KyberSwap’s development and enhancements.

Voting Rewards

In return for staking and participating in governance through voting, KNC holders receive a portion of protocol trading fees generated on KyberSwap. As more trades are carried out on KyberSwap, trading fees increase, resulting in more rewards for the KyberDAO. The more KNC staked by a user, the bigger their share of fees! Thus, there is a symbiotic relationship between KyberDAO stakeholders and KyberSwap’s success.

Gas Refunds

With our new Gas Refund Program, KNC holders who stake their tokens on KyberDAO are also able to enjoy gas refunds when they trade with KyberSwap. The percentage of gas refunds are based on their KNC staking tier, offering more rewards for higher levels of commitment.

Liquidity Provision

KNC holders can contribute to KyberSwap’s liquidity pools (e.g. KNC-USDC), providing valuable liquidity and earning fees from the trading activity that flows through the pool.

Liquidity Incentives

KNC’s role extends to incentivizing liquidity providers through liquidity mining rewards, on top of standard trading fees. This provides more value to liquidity providers, bootstraps liquidity, and further amplifies ecosystem growth.

Collateral for Loans

KNC is supported as a collateral asset on some lending/money market platforms for users to mint or borrow other tokens. For example, KNC can be deposited in Aave as collateral to borrow stablecoins or loaned out to users who want to borrow KNC (earning interest in the process). KNC can also be deposited in QiDao vaults to borrow the MAI stablecoin.

The future of KNC

As KyberSwap evolves and gets equipped with additional features, KNC’s utility is poised to grow even further. User feedback, community engagement, and ongoing developments will collectively shape the token’s future applications.

Visit the KNC Utility page and help us improve KNC by providing suggestions on our governance forum and making feature requests!

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