ZapAI Tokenomics

Token Overview

Core Token Utilities

The ZAPAI token is integral to every product and function within the ecosystem:

• Powering ZapShield Audits: Developers and project teams use ZAPAI to pay for adversarial audits of their smart contracts. A portion of these fees is used to reward the network's AI nodes and security researchers who identify critical vulnerabilities.
• Accessing ZapCheck Reports: Users spend ZAPAI to generate real time due diligence reports on tokens and protocols. This creates a direct incentive for maintaining the accuracy and speed of the analysis engine.
• Activating ZapGuard Protection: AI agent developers and operators stake ZAPAI to activate and maintain the security guardrails provided by ZapGuard. Staking ensures commitment to the security standards of the network and covers the computational cost of monitoring.
• Staking for Security Mining: Users can stake ZAPAI tokens to contribute to the platform's security intelligence. Stakers are rewarded with a share of the network fees generated from ZapShield, ZapCheck, and ZapGuard, effectively "mining" by securing the ecosystem.
• Governance and Curation: ZAPAI holders can participate in governance to vote on protocol upgrades, new threat models, and the allocation of the ecosystem fund. They also help curate and validate security data, ensuring the intelligence layer remains robust and up to date.

Incentive Mechanisms

ZapAI employs several mechanisms to encourage network growth and proactive defense:

• Security Bounties: A portion of the ecosystem fund is reserved for critical vulnerability bounties, paid in ZAPAI to white hat hackers and researchers who discover and responsibly disclose major threats.
• Liquidity and Staking Rewards: Users who provide liquidity to ZAPAI pools or participate in staking receive rewards from network emissions, aligning their interests with the long-term health of the token.
• Data Contribution Rewards: Users and AI agents that contribute valuable, validated threat intelligence data to the network are rewarded with ZAPAI tokens, creating a self improving, decentralized security database.

Token Allocation

The total supply of 1 billion ZAPAI tokens will be allocated across key areas to foster a balanced and sustainable ecosystem. The distribution is designed to empower the community, fund ongoing development, and bootstrap the network. A detailed allocation breakdown will be released closer to the token generation event.

Economic Flywheel

Value Accrual

The value of the ZAPAI token is directly linked to the adoption and utility of the ZapAI security suite. As more projects use ZapShield for audits, more users rely on ZapCheck for safety, and more AI agents are protected by ZapGuard, the demand for ZAPAI increases. This creates a flywheel effect: increased platform usage drives token demand, which in turn funds greater security research and development, making the platform even more valuable.

Deflationary Mechanisms

To ensure long term value, a portion of the fees generated from the platform's services will be programmatically burned. This deflationary pressure, combined with the staking mechanisms that lock up supply, is designed to reward long-term holders and active participants in the ecosystem.