Tokenomics: Token Design & Economics
Evaluating supply mechanics, utility, and distribution fairness
What is Tokenomics?
Tokenomics is the last T of STRICT. It asks whether supply, issuance and unlocks protect holders from dilution. The rating weighs the supply schedule and inflation, what the token is used for, and how it was allocated and vests.
How the Tokenomics number is set
For every coin, the research step records a Tokenomics rating from 0 to 10 in the coin's input set, with a written rationale and the pages it cites. A report prints that rating times 10, on the 0 to 100 scale. The engine multiplies it by the Tokenomics weight of the coin's sector profile and adds the other rated pillars the same way. It divides that sum by the weights in use and rounds to a whole number: the result is the STRICT score.
A pillar without a rating is left out of both the sum and the weights in use, so the other pillars carry the score. It is never scored as zero.
Tokenomics weight in each sector profile
The engine reads one weight table for every coin. Across its 9 sector profiles, the Tokenomics weight runs from 0.14 to 0.26. The six weights of each profile add up to 1.00.
| Profile and sectors | Sectors (coins) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Monetary | Store of Value (3) | 0.26 |
| Network protocol | Smart Contract Platform (30), Layer 1 (34), Layer 2 (25) | 0.14 |
| Financial protocol | DeFi (142), Exchange (20), Launchpad (5) | 0.14 |
| Technical infrastructure | Infrastructure (97), AI (94), DePIN (17), Privacy (20), Identity (7), Wallet (5), Social (7), IoT (3), Telecom (2) | 0.14 |
| Payments and RWA | RWA (91), Payments (20) | 0.16 |
| Adoption-led | Meme (61), Gaming (55), Entertainment (6), NFT (10), Sports (5) | 0.24 |
| Stable asset | Stablecoin (108) | 0.20 |
| Derivative | Wrapped Token (32), Liquid Staking (37) | 0.24 |
| Balanced | Any sector without its own profile, including Other (34) | 0.14 |
Key Evaluation Factors
Supply Mechanics
How token supply is managed affects long-term value capture and holder incentives.
- Maximum supply cap (if any) and inflation rate
- Emission schedule and whether it decreases over time
- Token unlock schedule and vesting periods
Token Utility
Real utility creates organic demand for the token beyond speculation.
- Governance rights and voting power
- Staking requirements for network participation or rewards
- Required for paying transaction fees or accessing services
Distribution Fairness
Fair distribution prevents centralization and creates long-term aligned stakeholders.
- Initial allocation between team, investors, and community
- Vesting schedules for team and early investors
- Token concentration among top holders
Where the evidence comes from
The input set of every coin must give each rated pillar a written rationale and at least one source address. A report never lists a page of this site as a source, and neither does the count below.
353 of the 935 input sets on file cite a third-party page for Tokenomics. The sites they cite most often:
- coingecko.com: 245 citations
- etherscan.io: 36 citations
- coinmarketcap.com: 13 citations
- github.com: 11 citations
- api.coingecko.com: 10 citations
Worked example: Bitcoin
Bitcoin is in the monetary profile, where Tokenomics weighs 0.26. Its Tokenomics rating is 95, so this pillar adds 95 × 0.26 = 24.70 to the weighted sum. The weighted mean of all its rated pillars rounds to its published STRICT score of 92.
The rationale recorded in its input set of 15 Oct 2026:
Consensus rules enforce a hard 21 million BTC cap with block subsidies halving every 210,000 blocks. Over 94% of maximum supply circulates with zero venture unlock dilution.
Sources it cites
The rarity bands apply to the final STRICT score, never to one pillar on its own. They are published in full here: Rarity bands
- Legendary90-100
- Epic80-89
- Rare70-79
- Uncommon60-69
- Common0-59
Engine v5.2.0. Every figure on this page is read from the engine and the coin registry when the page is built. Latest analysis in the registry: 22 Oct 2026.
See Cryptos Ranked by Tokenomics
Browse cryptocurrencies sorted by their Tokenomics score.
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