Web3 aims to foster an internet that is transparent, trustless, open, and secure. This vision relies on ecosystems being securely and seamlessly connected. To achieve this, the Web3 ecosystem needed a foundational messaging protocol that is secure, decentralized, trust-minimized, and open source. Over three years ago, Wormhole launched the first-ever generalized messaging protocol to first connect Ethereum and Solana. The protocol has since evolved into a fully fledged interoperability platform that connects Web3 and helps applications rapidly scale.

Today, Wormhole is the leading interoperability platform powering multichain applications and bridges at scale — the Web of Web3. The suite of open source protocols is used by developers of over 200 applications and hundreds of thousands of users to move various types of data across over 30 blockchains. In total, the platform has handled over 1 billion multichain messages for applications and teams like Uniswap, Circle, Lido, Synthetix, Pyth, and more. In 2023, the Uniswap Foundation’s Bridge Assessment Committee conducted a third-party multi-month report that resulted in Wormhole being named the only unconditionally approved cross-chain protocol for use by the Uniswap DAO, based primarily on security and decentralization practices.

The Wormhole platform is being developed by a decentralized set of teams contributing to security, engineering, research, product development, ecosystem growth, and community. These teams include Wormhole Foundation, Wormhole Labs, and xLabs, as well as other contributors like Wormhole China, Superteam, Lurk (ZK engineering), Zpoken (ZK engineering), among others.

The Wormhole protocol is now further decentralizing. This post explores the tokenomics of Wormhole’s native token, W. It includes the Token Release Schedule, allocation to strategic stakeholders within the Wormhole network and ecosystem, as well as a description of its current and future utility. The token generation event (TGE), broad distribution, and usage of W is a crucial step in advancing Wormhole towards a decentralized and permissionless future.

If you’re new to Wormhole, you can learn more about the platform at the following links:

• Wormhole Homepage
• Wormhole ecosystem (200+ apps)
• Wormhole Stats
• Platform:
  • Wormhole Messaging
  • Wormhole ZK
  • Wormhole Queries
  • Wormhole Gateway
  • Wormhole Connect
  • Wormhole Guardians
• Developer Documentation
• Wormhole Github
• Wormhole Social Links

Token Distribution & Release Schedule

• Ticker: W
• Maximum Supply: 10,000,000,000
• Initial circulating supply: 1,800,000,000
• Token Format: Native ERC20 and SPL (using Wormhole’s Native Token Transfer standard)
• Lock Up: 82% of W are initially locked and such tokens will unlock over the course of four years per the Token Release Schedule below.

W will be distributed across these six categories:

Token Allocation

Token Release Schedule

Strategic Stakeholders

There are six strategic stakeholders in the Wormhole ecosystem.

Guardian Nodes

5.1% - 510,000,000 W

Wormhole’s Guardian Network has been allocated 5.1% of the token supply. Guardian nodes provide the primary verification mechanism for any message passing through Wormhole. The Guardians operate full nodes for every blockchain connected to Wormhole and are critical to the overall security of the network. The Guardians have a strong reputation in the industry as a leading cross-chain security mechanism, with recognition from Uniswap’s Bridge Assessment leading to Wormhole being the only unconditionally approved interoperability protocol for Uniswap’s multichain governance.

None of the Guardian’s allocated token supply will be unlocked at the TGE and those W are subject to the Token Release Schedule.