TOKENOMICS 2024

The market is going through a phase of active growth, characterised by the increased activity of private investors and funds. When creating a new token — projects form a plan for its distribution (tokenomics) among users, investors, and teams, depending on the project's focus. Studying tokenomics helps to understand key directions and trends in business. We have analysed all published tokenomics available in the public space since 2015.

Average Token Distribution

Tokenomics 2024: average distribution

In 2024, we see the following main trends in token distribution: fundraising, ecosystem development, and team investment. Statistics show that 15% of tokens are allocated to fundraising on average, which is slightly more than in previous years. 11% of tokens are allocated for ecosystem development. Team investment also averages 11%.

Liquidity at 8% indicates the need to balance token availability and market stability.

The key focus remains on the community and rewards segments, with 6% and 5% shares, reflecting the efforts to stimulate activity and attract new users.

Tokenomics distribution analytics by years

Dynamics of allocations: Distribution by years

Despite the many directions for token distribution, we do not see a balance. Areas related to fundraising, ecosystem, and team development have always been a big part of project tokenomics.

The past growth cycle of the cryptocurrency market was characterised by increased allocations related to yield mechanics and the attraction of new users through rewards.

The recent cryptocurrency market downturn signaled the need to develop a more stable and balanced project economy. This has been a key reason for the growth in liquidity and treasury areas, while yield allocations and rewards have declined.

Prominent among the trends in 2024 are the tendencies to engage users through activities related to listings on exchanges and rewards for the community.

EXPERT OPINION

'New projects are looking for prospects in many directions. The tokenomics of current Web3 solutions is increasingly moving away from fundraising but focusing more on attracting an audience that can provide a strong foundation for the project's future monetization and development'.

Vladislav Kovshik, Strategy Marketing Director

Tokenomics analytics based on key blockchains

Tokenomics 2024: distribution by blockchain

Token distribution rarely depends on the blockchain, but the collected analytics help evaluate the prospects of projects created on different blockchains. We have found such peculiarities: 

• ETH and BNB are closest to the average distribution and have equilibrium allocations.
• Optimism has a focus on the treasury and rewards sectors.
• Ordinals, the L2-BTC protocol is a direct competitor to existing L2-ETH-based projects. It focuses on listing activities, user rewards, and treasury.
• TON projects make the biggest focus on yield-mechanics.

EXPERT OPINION

'Token allocation mostly depends on the strategy and goals of the project rather than the blockchain.
Projects on ETH and BNB have balanced tokenomics. On the other hand, projects on Optimism focus on developing Treasury and Rewards. Meanwhile, projects on Ordinals stand out for their emphasis on raising investments, always looking for new funding'.

Vladislav Kovshik, Strategy Marketing Director

Tokenomics analytics based on project category

Tokenomics 2024: distribution by category

In 2024, token allocation strategies in various spheres changed noticeably, reflecting adaptation to new market conditions and project needs.

Projects related to the development of new blockchains have significantly increased their funding towards development, showing an increase from 17% to 20%., while fundraising costs decreased from 21% to 13%. This indicates a strong focus on supporting and growing ecosystem projects. 

Blockchain Infrastructure shows a marked increase in funding for capital raising, from 8% to 18%. At the same time, the share for other expenses decreased from 28% to 21%, indicating a more efficient use of resources. In Blockchain Service, the share for other expenses increased slightly from 24% to 25%, while the share for rewards increased from 4% to 5%. This emphasises the desire to incentivise user activity.

In CeFi, liquidity increased from 5% to 10%, and teams increased from 9% to 13%. In DeFi, the focus on liquidity went up from 10% to 12%, but the focus on the ecosystem went down from 11% to 8%. It shows the importance of focusing on liquidity in this sphere. 

CeFi has seen a significant decrease in the share of tokens allocated to rewards (from 7% to 2%), which may indicate a reallocation of resources to more critical areas such as marketing (up to 10%). In DeFi, marketing has a smaller share (5%), which may indicate more organic growth and user engagement through the platform's functionality.

In GameFi, the share of fundraising tokens increased from 10% to 14%, highlighting efforts to raise capital, while the share for liquidity decreased from 4% to 3%, indicating an increase in project stability.

According to the data collected in the Meme category, the share of tokens allocated to fundraising increased significantly, from 18% in 2023 to 46%, demonstrating projects' aggressive strategy choices in this area. In NFT, on the contrary, the share on rewards increased from 7% to 10%, incentivising user activity. 

In Social, the share of tokens allocated to marketing increased from 7% to 9%, indicating active efforts to attract new users. At the same time, the share of funds allocated to the ecosystem decreased from 13% to 10%, indicating a reallocation of resources for more efficient growth.

EXPERT OPINION

'In 2024, strategic changes in token allocation reflect adaptation to new market conditions. CeFi's increased allocations to liquidity and team emphasise the importance of stability and attracting key talent, while DeFi and GameFi focus on maintaining liquidity and raising capital'. 

Alexander Pavlov, Partner, Chief Product Officer