What's wrong with the Aleo launch?
On September 18, 2024, @AleoHQ ’s long-awaited mainnet finally went live. For many, this milestone was expected to be the culmination of years of hard work and anticipation.
But instead of celebration, the community was met with confusion, frustration, and a series of surprises that raised more questions than answers.
➤ Promises Made, Promises Broken
・Back in 2021, when Aleo launched its second testnet, the team assured participants "Block rewards earned on testnet2 will be redeemable for Aleo credits at mainnet launch, and we invite all of our community members to participate." – https://t.co/bSmm5EXumn
・Back in March 2024, CEO Alex Pruden (@apruden08) confirmed the tokenomics at a public meeting where there would be no token lockup for testnet participants.
This information was confirmed by moderators in the discord later in July – https://t.co/XPjW53ZZvC
Fast forward a few months, and the reality looks quite different.
➤ Unexpected Changes to the Game Plan
During a community call on September 18, Alex Pruden announced that all token holders, including testnet participants, would face a one-year lockup period.
While the team and insiders will face a two-year vesting schedule following the lock, testnet participants will receive no such vesting after the lock expires.
Why the sudden change?
・According to the team, the lockup is necessary to mitigate regulatory risks and to preserve the long-term value of the network.
・But if these risks were known all along, why was this decision communicated only after the mainnet launch?
➤ Token Allocation and the Reality of Distribution
The team claims that testnet participants and insiders (team, etc.) are under the same conditions regarding token lockups. But is that really the case?
Aleo’s tokenomics states that the initial supply is 1.5 billion tokens. Can locked tokens be staked? Yes, they can.
Immediately following the mainnet launch, 1 billion Aleo tokens were staked by validators, leading to a daily inflation rate of 1 to 1.2 million Aleo through validator and miner rewards (Stake Rewards and Puzzle Rewards). That’s over 1m tokens generated daily, or over 365m Aleo in a year.
https://t.co/d4INx17nuK
https://t.co/KdWuQ6uFxQ
But who are these stakers? Let’s take a closer look at Aleo’s tokenomics:
・34% of Aleo tokens are allocated to early backers.
・25% are reserved for grants, ecosystem contributors, and educational programs.
・17% are set aside for employees and project contributors.
・16% are distributed between the Aleo Foundation and Provable.
・8% go to strategic partners.
Now let’s identify the rewards allocated to testnet participants.
During Testnet 2, 15 million Aleo credits were allocated – https://t.co/bSmm5EXumn
For Testnet 3, 25 million Aleo credits were allocated to developers, provers, and testnet validators –https://t.co/rdMOM5l4k8
Thus, the total reward pool for the testnets is 40 million Aleo credits out of 1.5 billion.
In reality, the majority of the rewards over the next year will be earned by investors, employees, and the Aleo Foundation, groups closely connected to the team. These categories are set to potentially earn nine times more than the combined rewards for all the testnets.
Staking rewards have no lockup period.
Testnet participants are now facing a one-year lock on their rewards, which will remain inaccessible until September 4, 2025. Despite earlier assurances, participants find themselves subject to a lockup while the team and insiders continue to accumulate staking rewards.
With daily inflation and heavy insider staking, the team will have amassed millions of Aleo tokens long before testnet rewards are unlocked.
➤ KYC and Reward Checker: Delays and Complications
To make matters worse, testnet participants still cannot access their rewards.
・KYC is mandatory for claiming rewards, but the process remains unavailable.
・Additionally, the reward checker is not live, leaving participants in limbo, unable to stake their tokens without completing KYC.
➤ Unanswered Questions
・Why were these crucial changes to the lockup and staking policies only disclosed after the mainnet launch?
・Why are KYC and the reward checker still unavailable, further complicating access to testnet rewards?
・How does the team justify a token distribution model that leaves the majority of circulating supply in the hands of insiders?
Now the post from Aleo's CEO looks rather ironic.
https://t.co/HkkhrmI9bW
➤ What’s the bottom line?
There are still unanswered questions surrounding Aleo’s current situation, and the community is eagerly awaiting clarity.
We hope the Aleo team will address these concerns and provide transparency to dispel any misunderstandings.
We look forward to seeing how they navigate this moving forward.
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