CHAPTER 9 OF 15
The $FIRM token
$FIRM has not launched yet. This chapter describes how the token is designed to work, and the design may change before launch. The full disclaimers are in Important information at the end of this document.
Why a token at all
FIRM already runs on two separate things: demo credit today, and real USDC as settlement currency once real-money markets turn on. Neither of those is designed to coordinate the network itself, decide who gets a scarce campaign slot, or reward the people and companies doing the most to make FIRM useful. That is the job $FIRM is designed for: a network coordination asset, separate from the money that actually settles a market position.
A market position, a YES or NO share, always settles from the market's own rules and evidence. It never settles from $FIRM's price. $FIRM and a market position are not the same kind of thing, and the design keeps them separate on purpose.
What $FIRM is for
$FIRM is a utility token. Holding or using it is designed to give access to things that are scarce on the network, not a claim on FIRM's earnings. The current design points $FIRM at:
- Scarce campaign and listing slots. Featured placement for a company's market or campaign is limited by design; $FIRM is the intended way to access it.
- Fee discounts. Reduced fees on market activity and campaigns for people and companies using $FIRM.
- Curation. A way for the network to weight which markets, sources, and companies get surfaced and trusted.
- Incentive routing. Directing sponsor-funded rewards, like Position Waterfalls and referral programs, through the token rather than ad hoc arrangements.
- Access to network growth programs. Participation in FIRM-run programs that help companies and creators grow their markets and their audience.
The value loop
FIRM's revenue comes from activity on the network: a fee on market trades once real settlement is live, fees on company-funded campaigns and Position Waterfalls, subscriptions for verified data connections, and usage-based charges for market infrastructure like APIs and embeds. None of that revenue flows to $FIRM holders as a payment, dividend, or yield.
The loop works differently. As more companies list markets, more traders take positions, and more campaigns run, more people and companies want the things $FIRM is used for: a campaign slot, a fee discount, a curated placement, a share of an incentive pool. That demand for scarce, $FIRM-denominated utility is what ties FIRM's usage back to $FIRM. More activity on the network means more reasons to want what $FIRM unlocks. That is the entire mechanism: usage drives demand for utility, and $FIRM is the asset that utility runs on.
Fixed supply, proposed allocation
$FIRM is designed with a fixed supply of 10,000,000,000 units. No more can ever be created. The current proposed allocation:
| Bucket | Share | Units | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market participation | 28% | 2.8B | Long-term rewards for useful market activity, position rewards, curation, referrals, and company growth actions |
| Ecosystem treasury | 22% | 2.2B | Data connectors, source integrations, grants, market launches, security, and network expansion |
| Network liquidity | 15% | 1.5B | Transparent liquidity programs for the network asset after product traction |
| Core contributors | 15% | 1.5B | Proposed 12-month cliff followed by 48 months of release |
| Investors and partners | 10% | 1.0B | Proposed 12-month cliff followed by 36 months of release |
| Company growth pool | 5% | 500M | Milestone campaigns, verified data connections, and company participation |
| Community | 5% | 500M | Early users, creators, launch partners, and product testing |
This allocation is a working design, not a final term sheet. It will change before any launch, and nothing here is a commitment to any specific number, date, or recipient.
Launch comes after usage, not before
FIRM's own sequencing is explicit about order: prove the product first, then turn on real-money settlement, then launch $FIRM last, once the network already has real usage, real fee demand, and a real history of resolved markets behind it.
- Now: prove the product. Connected data, market creation, funded positions, Position Waterfalls, and a real resolution history, all running today on demo credit.
- Next: turn on settlement. Real custody and real market execution, once provider, security, and operational requirements are met.
- Later: launch $FIRM. The token coordinates a network that already has usage, fee demand, companies, and market history behind it, rather than launching ahead of any of that.