onflow Flow Tokenomics
Design token economics for Flow-based protocols — from first principles through launch strategy, governance, and regulatory considerations.
Navigation Map
| Task | Reference |
|---|---|
| Economic foundations: Fisher Equation, Nash equilibrium, mechanism design, behavioral economics | first-principles.md |
| Pattern library: 5 proven patterns with metrics, 5 anti-patterns with failures, supply design | design-patterns.md |
| Revenue-to-token mechanisms: real yield, buyback/burn, P/E framework, Howey Test by mechanism | value-accrual.md |
| TGE playbook: 12-week timeline, distribution options, failure archive, market psychology | launch-strategy.md |
| DAO governance models, attack vectors, defenses, regulatory compliance | governance-compliance.md |
Key Principles
- Velocity kills price — High token velocity (fast rotation through wallets) suppresses price; sinks and lock-ups reduce velocity
- Emissions without demand is poison — Incentive programs must create real demand, not just TVL that exits when emissions end
- Real yield > narrative — Protocols generating actual revenue and sharing it survive market cycles; those relying on emissions alone don't
- Lock-up or lose — Programs without lock-up lose 60–80% of participants within 30 days of incentives ending
- Deflationary mechanics require revenue — Burns only work long-term if protocol revenue sustains or exceeds emission rate
Companion Skills
flow-defi— Use alongside when the token is for a DeFi protocol. Liquidity bootstrapping, veFLOW mechanics, and ecosystem positioning decisions affect tokenomics design.cadence-tokens— Use when implementing the actual FT/NFT contracts for the token. This skill covers economic design; cadence-tokens covers Cadence implementation.cadence-audit— Audit token contracts (staking, vesting, governance) before deployment.