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ShardKeep Tokenomics v3.2 DRAFT
Revised economic model with updated naming, auto-stake conversion, bounded operator rewards, and write-only fee structure · April 2026
Changes from v3.1: Updated all naming to post-rebrand (Warden/Bastion/Sentry, Pawn/Knight/Bishop/Rook/Queen). Replaced airdrop forfeiture with auto-stake model. Added reward floor/ceiling for operator fairness. Clarified fees as write-only (reads are free). Insurance pool grows from 5% of subscription revenue. Shard rotation included in paid subscriptions (no separate fee). Added 5th subscription tier (Queen). Added DAO governance allocation notes.
1. Token Overview
| Parameter | Value |
|---|
| Token Name | ShardKeep |
| Symbol | SHRD |
| Network | Solana (Token-2022 program) |
| DevNet Mint | SHRDymMdWpe6yonn9RThfKiCav8YUJMRxPxV9pQHkUe |
| Decimals | 9 |
| Total Supply | 1,000,000,000 SHRD (hard cap, never exceeded) |
| Genesis Supply | 400,000,000 (40%) |
| Emissions Pool | 600,000,000 (60%, released over 20+ years) |
| Burn Mechanism | None — all tokens recirculate through Project Bank |
| Pricing Model | USD-denominated (oracle at MainNet, fixed rates at DevNet) |
| Launch Price Target | $0.001 |
| Fully Diluted Valuation | $1,000,000 at launch |
2. Genesis Allocation (400M — 40%)
| Allocation | Tokens | % of Genesis | % of Total | Purpose |
|---|
| Project Bank (Treasury) |
120,000,000 | 30% | 12% |
Operations, subsidized storage, bounties, initial operator rewards |
| Founder |
40,000,000 | 10% | 4% |
Founder allocation — sole developer & operator investment recovery (1-year cliff, 4-year linear vest) |
| Future Team |
20,000,000 | 5% | 2% |
Reserved for future team hires (1-year cliff, 4-year linear vest per hire) |
| Staking Bond Reserve |
60,000,000 | 15% | 6% |
Backing for bond requirements as network grows |
| Community & Airdrops |
50,000,000 | 12.5% | 5% |
5 quarterly waves via CARES points platform |
| Liquidity & Market Making |
40,000,000 | 10% | 4% |
DEX liquidity pools, locked in LP at TGE |
| Development Fund |
40,000,000 | 10% | 4% |
Security audits ($50K+ MainNet audit), bug bounties, integrations, infrastructure |
| Insurance Pool |
30,000,000 | 7.5% | 3% |
Protocol failure compensation, breach claims (Queen tier) |
| Genesis Total |
400,000,000 | 100% | 40% |
|
v3.2 change — Insurance Pool growth: The initial 30M allocation is the seed. Additionally, 5% of all subscription revenue (paid tiers: Knight through Queen) flows into the Insurance Pool each month. This ensures insurance coverage scales with the user base rather than relying on a fixed genesis amount.
3. Emissions Allocation (600M — 60%)
| Allocation | Tokens | % of Emissions | % of Total | Purpose |
|---|
| Warden Rewards |
180,000,000 | 30% | 18% |
Network backbone & challenge coordination compensation |
| Bastion Rewards |
150,000,000 | 25% | 15% |
Shard storage & availability compensation |
| Sentry Rewards |
90,000,000 | 15% | 9% |
Lightweight participation rewards (browser extension nodes) |
| Protocol Incentives |
100,000,000 | 16.7% | 10% |
Project Bank refill, growth campaigns, future community rewards |
| Staking Rewards |
80,000,000 | 13.3% | 8% |
Additional yield for bond holders (all three node tiers) |
| Emissions Total |
600,000,000 | 100% | 60% |
|
4. Emission Schedule (Spring Model)
Halving Schedule
| Period | Annual Rate | Note |
|---|
| Years 1–4 | 8% of remaining pool | High emission — bootstrap the network |
| Years 5–8 | 4% of remaining pool | Halved — transition to fee economy |
| Years 9–12 | 2% of remaining pool | Halved again — fees dominate |
| Year 13+ | 1% of remaining pool | Perpetual baseline — never reaches 0 |
Year-by-Year Projections
| Year | Rate | Tokens Emitted | Total Circulating | % of 1B Cap |
|---|
| 1 | 8% | 48,000,000 | 448,000,000 | 44.8% |
| 2 | 8% | 44,160,000 | 492,160,000 | 49.2% |
| 3 | 8% | 40,627,200 | 532,787,200 | 53.3% |
| 4 | 8% | 37,377,024 | 570,164,224 | 57.0% |
| 5 | 4% | 17,193,431 | 587,357,655 | 58.7% |
| 10 | 2% | 7,014,960 | 656,266,937 | 65.6% |
| 15 | 1% | 3,108,500 | 689,150,000 | 68.9% |
| 20 | 1% | 2,956,000 | 704,400,000 | 70.4% |
At Year 20, ~70% of the 1B cap is circulating. The remaining ~296M in the emissions pool releases at 1%/year indefinitely, asymptotically approaching but never reaching the cap.
5. Subscription Tiers UPDATED
v3.2 change: Updated to 5 tiers matching the current codebase (Pawn/Knight/Bishop/Rook/Queen). Added explicit pricing and features per tier. Shard rotation is included in all paid subscriptions at no additional fee.
| Tier | Price | Quick Store | Vault | Shamir | Rotation | Features |
|---|
| Pawn |
Free |
5 |
20 |
3-of-5 |
— |
Sharded vault with real Shamir protection |
| Knight |
$1.50/mo |
10 |
40 |
4-of-7 |
Weekly (included) |
2FA backup wallet, vault sharding |
| Bishop |
$3/mo |
10 |
250 |
5-of-9 |
Daily (included) |
Dark web monitoring, priority support |
| Rook |
$10/mo |
10 |
500 |
5-of-9 |
Daily (included) |
Shared vaults, up to 6 household seats |
| Queen |
$25 + $3/user/mo |
10 |
Unlimited |
7-of-12 |
Daily (included) |
Dedicated Bastion cluster, breach insurance, compliance reporting |
Subscription Payment
- Paid in SHRD tokens — USD-denominated, converted at current oracle rate (fixed on DevNet)
- 5% of all subscription revenue → Insurance Pool (grows with user base)
- 95% of subscription revenue → Project Bank (operations, rewards, growth)
- Users acquire SHRD via: CARES points conversion, DEX purchase, or airdrop allocation
Subscription Token Costs at Various Prices
| Tier | USD/mo | At $0.001 | At $0.003 | At $0.01 | At $0.05 |
|---|
| Knight | $1.50 | 1,500 SHRD | 500 SHRD | 150 SHRD | 30 SHRD |
| Bishop | $3.00 | 3,000 SHRD | 1,000 SHRD | 300 SHRD | 60 SHRD |
| Rook | $10.00 | 10,000 SHRD | 3,333 SHRD | 1,000 SHRD | 200 SHRD |
| Queen | $25 base | 25,000 SHRD | 8,333 SHRD | 2,500 SHRD | 500 SHRD |
6. Fee Structure (Write-Only) UPDATED
v3.2 change: Clarified that all Solana reads are free. Users can ALWAYS retrieve their passwords at zero cost. Fees apply only to write operations (on-chain state changes). Shard rotation removed from fee table — included in paid subscriptions.
Core principle: Users can always access their passwords for free. No “I can’t unlock my vault” scenario exists. Shard retrieval, password reconstruction, and vault listing are all read operations with zero cost.
Write Operation Fees (USD-denominated, paid in SHRD)
v3.2 pricing model: All write fees are set at 150% of estimated on-chain cost. The 50% margin covers infrastructure overhead and flows to the Project Bank as protocol revenue. This is how the project sustains itself and recovers development investment.
| Operation | Type | On-Chain Cost | User Pays (150%) | At $0.001 | At $0.01 |
|---|
| Retrieve / unlock password | READ | Free | Free | — | — |
| List vault entries | READ | Free | Free | — | — |
| View shard map / health | READ | Free | Free | — | — |
| Add new password | WRITE | $0.0005 | $0.00075 | 0.75 SHRD | 0.075 SHRD |
| Delete password | WRITE | $0.0005 | $0.00075 | 0.75 SHRD | 0.075 SHRD |
| Move to Vault (shard) | WRITE | $0.001 | $0.0015 | 1.5 SHRD | 0.15 SHRD |
| Recovery initiation | WRITE | $0.005 | $0.0075 | 7.5 SHRD | 0.75 SHRD |
| Audit log write | WRITE | $0.0002 | $0.0003 | 0.3 SHRD | 0.03 SHRD |
| Shard rotation | WRITE | Included in subscription (Knight+ paid tiers only, no separate fee) |
Fee Revenue Split
| Component | % | Destination |
|---|
| On-chain cost (Solana TX fees) | ~67% | Solana network (unavoidable) |
| Protocol margin | ~33% | Project Bank (operations, development recovery) |
The 150% markup means for every $1 in on-chain costs, users pay $1.50. The $0.50 margin is pure protocol revenue flowing to the Project Bank, funding ongoing development, infrastructure, and founder investment recovery.
Token Recycling Loop
Write fees are the mechanism that makes the free tier sustainable. Every password stored by a Pawn user costs a tiny amount of SHRD that flows to the Project Bank. This creates token demand from free users and drives the recycling loop:
User earns points → converts to SHRD → stores passwords (write fees) → fees flow to Project Bank → Project Bank funds operator rewards → operators provide infrastructure → users store more passwords
Monthly Cost per User (Fees Only, Excluding Subscription)
| User Type | Activity/mo | Fee Tokens at $0.001 | USD Cost |
|---|
| Pawn (free) | 5 adds, 2 deletes | 5.25 SHRD | $0.005 |
| Knight ($1.50/mo) | 5 adds, 2 deletes, rotation included | 5.25 SHRD | $0.005 + $1.50 sub |
| Bishop ($3/mo) | 10 adds, 3 deletes, rotation included | 9.75 SHRD | $0.010 + $3.00 sub |
Write fees are negligible relative to subscriptions. A Pawn user’s airdrop allocation covers years of write fees.
7. Node Staking & Bonds
Bond Requirements (USD-denominated, paid in SHRD)
| Node Type | Bond (USD) | At $0.001 | At $0.01 | At $0.05 | Uptime Req. | Returnable? |
|---|
| Warden | $500 | 500,000 SHRD | 50,000 SHRD | 10,000 SHRD | 99.5%+ | Yes (7-day exit notice) |
| Bastion | $100 | 100,000 SHRD | 10,000 SHRD | 2,000 SHRD | 95%+ | Yes (7-day exit notice) |
| Sentry | $10 | 10,000 SHRD | 1,000 SHRD | 200 SHRD | Best-effort | Yes (48h exit notice) |
Bond Lifecycle
- Stake: Token amount locked in escrow smart contract. Bond is USD-denominated, oracle-adjusted.
- Operate: Bond remains locked, earns staking yield from emissions. Operator earns rewards for uptime, shards, heartbeats. Bond is NOT consumed — it is collateral.
- Graceful exit: Announce shutdown (7-day for Warden/Bastion, 48h for Sentry). Shards redistributed. After confirmation: 100% of bond returned.
Slashing Penalties
| Offense | Slash % | Destination |
|---|
| Serving corrupt shard data | 100% | Project Bank |
| Extended unannounced downtime (>72h) | 25% | Project Bank |
| Failed heartbeat proofs (>50% in 30 days) | 10% | Project Bank |
| Collusion attempt (anomaly detected) | 100% | Project Bank |
| Hardware failure with proper notification | 0% | — |
Sentry nodes: 25% slash cap (lighter penalties given best-effort uptime model).
All slashed tokens recirculate through the Project Bank — no tokens are ever burned.
8. Operator Rewards UPDATED
v3.2 change: Added reward floor and ceiling per node to prevent early-operator whale accumulation and ensure late joiners remain viable. Excess tokens flow to Project Bank for future distribution.
Year 1 Emission Distribution (48M tokens)
| Category | Amount | % |
|---|
| Warden Rewards | 14,400,000 | 30% |
| Bastion Rewards | 12,000,000 | 25% |
| Sentry Rewards | 7,200,000 | 15% |
| Protocol Incentives (→ Project Bank) | 8,016,000 | 16.7% |
| Staking Rewards (bond holder yield) | 6,384,000 | 13.3% |
Reward Floor & Ceiling (per node, per month)
Fairness principle: Early operators earn well but not obscenely. Late operators still earn enough to cover costs. The early-adopter advantage is real but bounded.
| Node Type | Floor (min/mo) | Ceiling (max/mo) | Mechanism |
|---|
| Warden |
5,000 SHRD |
50,000 SHRD |
When fewer Wardens exist, each earns more — but never above ceiling |
| Bastion |
1,000 SHRD |
10,000 SHRD |
Excess emission above ceiling flows to Project Bank |
| Sentry |
50 SHRD |
1,000 SHRD |
Proportional to actual uptime within bounds |
How Floor/Ceiling Works
Each epoch, the emission for a node type is divided by the number of active nodes of that type:
- If
emission / nodes > ceiling: each node gets the ceiling, excess goes to Project Bank
- If
emission / nodes < floor: each node gets the floor, deficit drawn from Project Bank
- If between floor and ceiling: even split (current behavior)
This ensures that Year 1 with 50 Wardens doesn't pay 24,000 SHRD/month each (below ceiling of 50,000 — fine), while Year 5 with 500 Wardens still pays at least 5,000 SHRD/month each (the floor).
Reward Vesting
7-day release on all operator rewards to prevent instant dumping. Rewards accrue daily but unlock weekly.
9. Points Conversion & Auto-Stake NEW
v3.2 new: Replaced the v3.1 “forfeiture” model (claim 25% and lose 75%) with an auto-stake model. No tokens are lost. Unclaimed tokens are productively staked on Sentry nodes, earning rewards for the user.
CARES Points → SHRD Conversion
Users earn CARES points on the external rewards platform. Points can be converted to:
- Subscription credit — pay for tier upgrades directly with points (no token intermediary)
- SHRD tokens — converted at the current exchange rate, subject to vesting
Token Vesting with Auto-Stake (replaces forfeiture)
| Vesting Period | Liquid % | Auto-Staked % | Example: 10,000 SHRD earned |
|---|
| 12 months |
100% |
0% |
10,000 liquid after 12 months |
| 6 months |
50% |
50% (staked on Sentry) |
5,000 liquid at 6mo + 5,000 earning staking rewards |
| 3 months |
25% |
75% (staked on Sentry) |
2,500 liquid at 3mo + 7,500 earning staking rewards |
| Immediate |
10% |
90% (staked on Sentry) |
1,000 liquid now + 9,000 earning staking rewards |
No tokens are lost or “slashed.” The auto-staked portion is locked as a Sentry bond, earning staking rewards for the user. After the vesting period, the staked tokens become liquid. This is anti-gaming (can’t dump immediately) while being non-punitive (user benefits from staking yield during the lock period). It also strengthens the network by adding more staked Sentry nodes.
Anti-Gaming Measures
- Auto-staked tokens are locked for the full vesting period — no early unstake
- Staking rewards on auto-staked tokens are paid normally (incentivizes patience)
- Device fingerprinting + wallet age requirements on CARES platform
- Sybil detection: unusual conversion patterns flagged for review
10. Airdrop Schedule (5% — 50M tokens)
| Wave | Timing | Tokens | Method | Recipients |
|---|
| Wave 1 | TGE | 10,000,000 | Direct airdrop | Early participants, DevNet testers |
| Wave 2 | Q1 post-launch | 10,000,000 | CARES points conversion | Points holders (proportional) |
| Wave 3 | Q2 post-launch | 10,000,000 | CARES points conversion | Points holders (proportional) |
| Wave 4 | Q3 post-launch | 10,000,000 | CARES points conversion | Points holders (proportional) |
| Wave 5 | Q4 post-launch | 10,000,000 | CARES points conversion | Points holders (proportional) |
Wave 1 Per-User Allocation (Zone A)
| Component | Tokens | USD at $0.001 | Purpose |
|---|
| Sentry bond | 10,000 | $10.00 | Locked as bond, earning rewards |
| First month Knight subscription | 1,500 | $1.50 | Consumed (subscription payment) |
| Vesting surplus | 13,500 | $13.50 | Released 2,250/mo over 6 months |
| Total per user | 25,000 | $25.00 | |
Zone A: ~200 users × 25,000 = 5,000,000 tokens. Remaining 5,000,000 for other early participants.
11. Genesis Vesting Schedule
| Category | TGE | Month 3 | Month 6 | Month 12 | Month 24 | Month 48 |
|---|
| Community/Airdrops (50M) | 10M | 20M | 30M | 40M | 50M | 50M |
| Project Bank (120M) | 48M | 63M | 78M | 108M | 120M | 120M |
| Founder (40M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13M | 33M |
| Future Team (20M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7M | 17M |
| Liquidity (40M) | 40M | 40M | 40M | 40M | 40M | 40M |
| Staking Reserve (60M) | 5M | 10M | 15M | 25M | 40M | 60M |
| Development (40M) | 4M | 6M | 10M | 16M | 28M | 40M |
| Insurance (30M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Genesis Circulating | 107M | 139M | 173M | 229M | 298M | 360M |
Insurance Pool (30M) remains locked in escrow. Never counted as circulating unless released by DAO governance vote for valid claims. Grows independently via 5% subscription fee inflow.
12. DAO Governance
v3.2 new: Governance structure via SPL Realms (realms.today). No custom governance code needed.
Governance Weight
Voting power is based on staked SHRD tokens, not raw wallet balance. This prevents someone from converting points to tokens and immediately swinging a vote — staking requires skin in the game.
Governance Scope
- Insurance claims: Release funds from Insurance Pool for breach compensation
- Parameter changes: Adjust subscription prices, bond amounts, slash percentages
- Development fund releases: Approve spending for audits, bounties, integrations
- Emission rate adjustments: Modify halving schedule if needed
- Protocol upgrades: Approve Solana program upgrades
Proposal Requirements
- Minimum stake to propose: 100,000 SHRD staked
- Voting period: 7 days
- Quorum: 10% of total staked supply must vote
- Pass threshold: 66% supermajority
13. Wallet Architecture
Required Wallets / Token Accounts
Each allocation bucket requires a dedicated Solana token account for transparency and auditability. All wallets should be visible on the operator Wallets page.
| Wallet | Purpose | Initial Balance | Inflows | Outflows |
|---|
| Treasury / Project Bank | Operations, bounties, growth | 120,000,000 | Write fees, subscription revenue (95%), slashing penalties, protocol incentive emissions | Operator rewards (when floor > emission), bounties, development |
| Staking Bond Reserve | Bond backing for new operators | 60,000,000 | Returned bonds from exiting operators | Released as nodes come online |
| Insurance Pool | Breach claims, protocol failure | 30,000,000 | 5% of subscription revenue | DAO governance vote only |
| Community / Airdrop | 5 quarterly distribution waves | 50,000,000 | None | 10M per wave |
| Founder | Founder investment recovery & compensation | 40,000,000 | None | 1-year cliff, then linear over 4 years |
| Future Team | Reserved for future hires | 20,000,000 | None | Per-hire vesting (locked until allocated) |
| Liquidity Pool | DEX LP (locked) | 40,000,000 | LP fees | Locked in LP contract |
| Development Fund | Audits, bounties, integrations | 40,000,000 | None | Governance-triggered |
| Emissions Pool | 20+ year distribution | 600,000,000 | None | Per emission schedule (8% → 4% → 2% → 1%) |
Total: 9 wallets (8 allocation wallets + the mint authority). All visible on the operator Wallets page with real-time balances, even before functional transfer UI is built.
13b. Founder Allocation & Development Costs NEW
v3.2 new: Explicit founder allocation separated from future team. Development Fund earmarked for MainNet security audit.
Founder Allocation (40M SHRD — 4%)
The founder is the sole developer, architect, and operator of the ShardKeep project. Thousands of dollars in development costs (infrastructure, servers, Solana program deployment, domain registrations, etc.) have been invested personally. The founder allocation provides:
- Investment recovery — recoup development costs over the vesting period
- Ongoing commitment — 1-year cliff ensures long-term alignment
- At launch price ($0.001): 40M tokens = $40,000 fully vested value
- At $0.01: $400,000 fully vested — reasonable for a multi-year project
Vesting: 0% at TGE, 1-year cliff, then linear release over 4 years (monthly unlocks).
Future Team Reserve (20M SHRD — 2%)
Reserved for future team hires. Each hire receives an allocation with their own 1-year cliff and 4-year vest. Unused tokens remain in reserve. If no team is hired, these tokens remain locked indefinitely.
Development Fund Earmarks (40M SHRD — 4%)
| Purpose | Estimated Cost (USD) | At $0.001 | At $0.01 | Priority |
|---|
| MainNet security audit | $50,000 – $100,000 | 50M – 100M | 5M – 10M | Required before MainNet |
| Solana program audit (Anchor) | $15,000 – $30,000 | 15M – 30M | 1.5M – 3M | Required before MainNet |
| Bug bounty program | $5,000 – $20,000 | 5M – 20M | 0.5M – 2M | Ongoing after launch |
| Third-party integrations | $5,000+ | 5M+ | 0.5M+ | Post-launch |
Note: At the launch price of $0.001, the 40M Development Fund covers $40,000 — potentially short of a comprehensive security audit. The fund may need supplementation from the Project Bank or from higher token valuations. The security audit is a hard prerequisite for MainNet deployment and must be fully funded before launch.
14. Combined Allocation Summary
| Category | Tokens | % of Total | Source |
|---|
| Node Rewards (Warden + Bastion + Sentry) | 420,000,000 | 42% | Emissions |
| Project Bank / Treasury | 220,000,000 | 22% | 120M Genesis + 100M Emissions |
| Staking (Bond Reserve + Staking Rewards) | 140,000,000 | 14% | 60M Genesis + 80M Emissions |
| Founder | 40,000,000 | 4% | Genesis (1yr cliff, 4yr vest) |
| Future Team | 20,000,000 | 2% | Genesis (reserved, per-hire vesting) |
| Community & Airdrops | 50,000,000 | 5% | Genesis |
| Liquidity & Market Making | 40,000,000 | 4% | Genesis |
| Development Fund | 40,000,000 | 4% | Genesis |
| Insurance Pool | 30,000,000 | 3% | Genesis (+ 5% subscription inflow) |
| Total | 1,000,000,000 | 100% | |
15. Changes from v3.1
| # | Change | Rationale |
|---|
| 1 | All naming updated: Operator→Warden, Vault→Bastion, XNode→Sentry, Shield→Pawn, Guardian→Knight, Sentinel→Bishop, Fortress split into Rook+Queen | Align with post-rebrand codebase |
| 2 | 5 subscription tiers (was 4): added Queen tier | Match existing code and product offering |
| 3 | Write-only fees clarified; reads are explicitly free | Users must always access passwords for free |
| 4 | Shard rotation included in paid subscriptions (no separate fee) | Rotation is a subscription benefit, not a nickel-and-dime charge |
| 5 | Insurance Pool grows via 5% of subscription revenue | Scales with user base instead of fixed genesis allocation |
| 6 | Points conversion: auto-stake model replaces forfeiture | Non-punitive anti-gaming; strengthens network via Sentry staking |
| 7 | Operator reward floor/ceiling per node type | Prevents early-whale accumulation, ensures late-joiner viability |
| 8 | DAO governance via SPL Realms with staked-token voting weight | Skin-in-the-game voting; no custom governance code |
| 9 | 8 dedicated wallet accounts defined for full transparency | All wallets visible on operator dashboard |
| 10 | SHRD token created on DevNet: SHRDymMdWpe6yonn9RThfKiCav8YUJMRxPxV9pQHkUe | Vanity mint address with Token-2022 metadata support |
| 11 | Write fees set at 150% of on-chain cost (50% protocol margin) | Generates revenue for Project Bank, funds development recovery |
| 12 | Team & Founders split into Founder (40M, 4%) + Future Team (20M, 2%) | Explicit founder allocation for investment recovery; team reserve locked until hired |
| 13 | Development Fund explicitly earmarked for $50K+ MainNet security audit | Hard prerequisite for MainNet, must be fully funded before launch |
ShardKeep Tokenomics v3.2 (DRAFT) · April 2026
Supersedes: Tokenomics v3.1
References: Network Architecture v1,
Revenue Streams v1,
April Roadmap