Aptos Foundation locks 210M APT, shifting to staking rewards

The Aptos Foundation is moving 210 million APT into storage and planning never to sell it. The Foundation says it will lock and stake those tokens instead of selling them. Its day-to-day operations will be paid for with the staking rewards the tokens earn. That is a sizable pile. The locked amount equals approximately 18% of APT’s circulating supply at the time of the announcement, and about 37% of the Foundation’s original mainnet allocation. What the Foundation is actually changing Until now, treasury sales were the Foundation’s main source of operating money. Under the new plan, staking rewards from the locked tokens take over that job. The distinction matters for anyone holding APT. A foundation that pays its bills by selling tokens adds steady supply to the market. A foundation that pays its bills from staking income does not need to sell. Staking also has a security benefit. On a proof-of-stake network like Aptos, tokens committed to staking act as collateral that keeps validators honest. The more value at stake, the costlier it becomes to misbehave. The Foundation says the goal is to strengthen network security while giving itself a long-term funding source. The research des...