Proposal: xDEV Token – A KTON-Powered Ecosystem Growth Mechanism (Inspired by Astar dApp Staking)

[sonoferin2000]

This proposal introduces xDEV — a new token concept inspired by Astar’s dApp staking model, designed to grow the Darwinia ecosystem by funding builders, rewarding contributors, and reviving the utility of KTON.

Much like Astar’s approach, this system allows users to stake in support of on-chain projects. The difference? We embed KTON as a requirement to participate, ensuring it becomes a vital part of launching and governing ecosystem growth.

Core Concepts

xDEV: A fixed-supply or slow-inflation token that powers:

    Staking rewards for users who back projects

    Funding for approved developers and teams

    Governance over reward schedules and emissions

Staking Pools: Similar to Astar, each approved project can open a pool/vault where users stake xDEV.

    Reward flow:

        🔧 Developer (builder allocation)

        🙋 Staker (user reward)

        🏛️ Treasury (sustainability fund)

KTON Integration

To participate in this ecosystem, KTON becomes the key:

Project Activation Bond: Builders must lock/stake KTON to apply for xDEV-funded pools (anti-sybil + skin-in-the-game).

Governance Power: KTON or gKTON holders govern project approvals and emissions weights.

xDEV Minting Access: Initial supply can only be accessed by locking or staking KTON.

Staking Rewards Split: Optional % of all staking rewards go back to KTON stakers.

veXDEV Path: KTON could optionally be converted to veXDEV (vote-escrowed xDEV) to gain emissions voting rights.

🛠 Token Design

Fixed Supply or Halving Curve: Mimicking Bitcoin’s scarcity model, halving over time.

veXDEV Governance: Users can lock xDEV for boosted vote power (1–4 years = 1x–4x).

Deflationary Measures:

    Burn small % of emissions or fees

    Optional buyback-and-burn using Treasury income

    Slash idle or abandoned pools

🧭 Goals

Reintroduce utility and purpose to KTON

Empower project teams to build and grow openly

Reward the community for supporting real builders

Encourage decentralized and organic ecosystem expansion

Take inspiration from proven models like Astar while adapting them to Darwinia’s strengths

[sonoferin2000]

Additionally, KTON holders can have a KTON bonding genesis event, where users have the option to lock KTON for a variable period, similar to how RING bonding works., in order to receive an initial allocation of xDEV. The more KTON you bond, and the longer you choose to lock it for, the more xDEV you would receive. This would create demand for KTON and would align long-term supporters with governance and utility.

[SasoLithops]

Hi @sonoferin2000!

Thank you for putting time in this contribution. Idea that does great for KTON is much appreciated.

I am no longer familiar with Astar concept, so forgive me if any of my questions sound nooby;-) They seemed in similar struggle like we had been in before we stopped minting of new RING. Too high inflation of new minted Astar tokens and demand not near to cover flood of these new tokens.

1. "xDEV Minting Access: Initial supply can only be accessed by locking or staking KTON."

If I understand correctly once project locks KTON for certain period of time, proportional ammount of xDEV is distributed among KTON stakers.

I find this the hardest how will xDEV get initial value? And where would be liquidity pool to support its trading?

2. "Governance Power: KTON or gKTON holders govern project approvals and emissions weights."

What is meant here by govern? Can you give an example. Wouldn't period of locking KTON also affect emission weights?

3. "Reward the community for supporting real builders"

This would be fantastic.

4. "veXDEV Path: KTON could optionally be converted to veXDEV (vote-escrowed xDEV) to gain emissions voting rights."
   "veXDEV Governance: Users can lock xDEV for boosted vote power (1–4 years = 1x–4x)."

This is great idea. Like one can lock KTON for certain period of time to get more gKTON voting power.

5. What would be xDEV initial supply?

6. I really like this KTON locks, but not sure if only with increased number of developers(which are hard to get) xDEV would get some value.

Looking forward to your replies:-)

[sonoferin2000]

Thanks for taking the time to read. This is still in the idea phase, so nothing is final — I'm open to all feedback and suggestions.

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. Starting with value — that's honestly the hardest part to define at this stage. Value will ultimately depend on how much utility we can create through real builder participation and governance.

As for initial liquidity, that's much more straightforward. Since xDEV would only be distributed to those who lock KTON at genesis, they would be the ones providing the initial liquidity. This is meant to be a fair launch — no team allocation, no pre-mine, no insider advantage. If you didn’t lock KTON, you don’t get any xDEV at the start.

Going forward, though, a portion of rewards would be directed to the DAO treasury, which could then establish protocol-owned liquidity (POL) over time. But at the genesis moment, it’s really up to the lockers — they’re the only ones holding xDEV, so the first LPs would naturally come from them.

Regarding what “governing” means:

Choosing which developer teams get approved

Deciding how much xDEV emissions their staking pool receives

Determining whether a pool remains active or gets slashed for inactivity

Example:
A team proposes an “AI NFT Project” and wants to open a staking pool.
They stake 1,000 KTON as their activation bond.
gKTON holders vote to approve or reject the proposal.
If approved, veXDEV holders vote on how much of the weekly emissions (e.g. 10%) should go to that project’s pool.

So the system acts like a funding DAO, similar to what Astar or Arbitrum’s DAO does — balancing quality control and ecosystem growth.

That said, now that I think about it more… it might make sense to simplify and just build an xDEV DAO directly, without requiring KTON in the loop. But I do still like the idea of using KTON as the gateway to the genesis event and early governance. It gives KTON renewed purpose and filters for real commitment early on.

Still exploring — feedback very welcome.

[SasoLithops]

I understand better now. The thing is for projects to build on smaller chain they usually need incentives to start that. I really love the idea of DAO governing on developer approval(get KYC from them as many scammers only to grab funds), xDEV emissions and ESPECIALY monitor their progress on activity. This imo is fantastic idea.

I still see the problem though in developers only dumping xDEV to get funded. Where would be demand to make it sustainable? I know it might come once good projects launch. Just thinking out loud maybe it wouldn't be bad if this starts as KtonDAO subDAO(but keep connection to KTON). And do an initial airdrop to KTON members who lock KTON at genesis. Need to think more on this... Hopefully someone else joins us too with brainstorming:-)

[sonoferin2000]

You're absolutely right — and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot too. Scarcity could be xDEV’s greatest strength. By avoiding a premine and keeping the supply tight — much like Bitcoin’s early design — we’re setting the stage for real, organic speculation. Especially here, in Darwinia, where there are so few native assets competing for attention, scarcity can become a major driver.

Of course, some teams will sell xDEV to fund their projects — and that’s expected. But strong projects generate momentum, and momentum draws in buyers. In a low-supply environment, even small demand can trigger outsized moves in price. Beyond that, builders could be motivated to stake their xDEV into their own projects, competing for a larger share of future emissions — so much so that we might eventually need to cap how much xDEV a team can self-stake, to ensure fairness and ecosystem health.

We can strengthen the model even further: adding small vault unlock fees paid in xDEV, lightweight transaction or service fees, with portions either burned or funneled back into the treasury. Subtle deflationary forces like these build long-term pressure under the price and reinforce the network’s sustainability.

If we get the architecture right, xDEV won’t just be another utility token — it can become a real store of ownership and a stake in the network’s future growth. Darwinia is still almost completely off the radar — known only to a few speculators and opportunists. That’s not a weakness. That’s our advantage. We have a rare chance to build something clean, scarce, and deeply valuable — before the rest of the world catches on.

[SasoLithops]

This is from my poitn of view definitely worth putting more research on. We also need to see how much work it is for developers. Let's see what others have to say. We talked about it on Friday RingDAO Round table. I know Jesse will share his opinion too.

[sonoferin2000]

Thanks, I am looking forward to hearing what others have to say. even if its decided that this is a little too ambitious for us at this point, we all really need to put our heads together to think of ways we can make kton useful and relevant, besides simply staking. And for the record, im just explaining how i think it would work, when it comes to tokenomics, Im not a pro. i leave that to the wisdom of the crowd to decide what the best path forward would be for this concept to work.