4.6B max, doofs, the millions table, allocations · content/token_supply.md
Token Supply & Units — the exact numbers
Date: 2026-09-08 · Question: "How many tokens exist? We measure by the million, right?" → Yes. Headline units below; full accounting follows.
The headline
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 4,600,000,000 QALS — 4.6 billion = 4,600 million (yes, we count in millions) |
| Display unit | Qals (ticker QALS) — the everyday unit, AU$1 credit class when backed |
| Base unit | 1 doof = 0.000001 Qals (1 Qals = 1,000,000 doofs — the million-multiple denomination, IOTA/MIOTA homage) · total base units = 4.6 quadrillion doofs |
| Protocol inflation | Zero — fixed max supply, no emission schedule (deliberate contrast with IOTA, which abolished its cap and inflates ~6.1%/yr) |
| Existence today | 0 QALS minted. Everything running is paper/test: loopd ledger cents (AU¢), devnet test gas (IOTA-denominated), and design allocations. Real minting begins only with the reserve + licensed gates |
The scale ladder (for intuition)
1 doof = 0.000001 QALS (a micro-inference; gas dust)
1 AUD cent = 0.01 QALS = 10,000 doofs (loopd's working unit)
1 QALS = 1,000,000 doofs (the everyday unit — a service credit)
1 QALS = AU$1.00 of credit (B-QALS class, when live)
1 million QALS = AU$1,000,000 of credit capacity
4,600 million QALS = the entire possible system, ever
Supply by class (the two-token rule)
| Class | Born from | Max possible | Circulation rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-QALS (backed) | AU$1 paid into the segregated Reserve | Demand-driven — every token born backed, burned on consumption | Mint-on-deposit / burn-on-use / redeem for SERVICES (no cash-out, Phase 1–2 policy) |
| G-QALS (growth) | Genesis allocation | 4,600,000,000 fixed (the "4.6B" figure refers to this + any B-QALS minted — total possible objects never exceed the 4.6B cap) | Vesting schedules below; FloorVault-supported, never redeemable |
G-QALS allocation (of the 4.6B fixed cap)
| Bucket | % | QALS | In millions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem & user rewards | 25% | 1,150,000,000 | 1,150M |
| Treasury (qalarc) | 20% | 920,000,000 | 920M |
| Team & founders (4y vest, 1y cliff) | 15% | 690,000,000 | 690M |
| Investors/partners (3y, 1y cliff) | 10% | 460,000,000 | 460M |
| Compute rewards pool (10y) | 10% | 460,000,000 | 460M |
| Liquidity & Qalx seeding | 10% | 460,000,000 | 460M |
| Validator subsidy | 5% | 230,000,000 | 230M |
| Airdrop (identity-gated) | 5% | 230,000,000 | 230M |
| Total | 100% | 4,600,000,000 | 4,600M |
Sums check: 1150+920+690+460+460+460+230+230 = 4,600 ✓
Worked everyday examples
- A monthly AU$500 compute habit = 500 QALS consumed/burned = 0.0000109% of max supply.
- The base-case 36-month AU$16.2M revenue projection ≈ 16.2M B-QALS ever minted-and-burned = 0.35% of the cap — the cap is not near-binding at any planned scale.
- Rewards budget example: AU$5k marketing month = 5,000 B-QALS bought from reserve-backed issuance (still 1:1 — rewards are born backed by design).
Why "millions" is the right working unit
Every operational number (sales, rewards, compute volume) is naturally in the thousands-to-millions; the doof exists for metering precision, the QALS for value, and the million for conversation. The billion-scale (4.6B) is mentioned exactly twice in the system's life: genesis and this page.
Related: 03_qals_architecture/QALS_BACKING_DESIGN.md (classes & reserve invariant), content/iota_vs_qals.md (why fixed supply vs IOTA's inflation), FAQ. Not financial advice.
Cash-out policy (2026-09-09 decision)
Phase 1–2: no fiat cash-out. QALS is an interchangeable services token: acquired for AUD, spendable across every qalarc service and transferable inside the qalarc ecosystem, and redeemable only for services. This is a deliberate legal-surface decision (see the AU Token Law Playbook): a closed-loop, service-redeemable, non-cash-outable prepaid credit sits squarely in the prepaid carve-out and away from SVF/NCPF capture. Redemption fee is the standing terminology for any fee on redemption paths (service-redemption fees today where applicable; the AU$0.995 cash figure is retained only as the future licensed option). Cash redemption returns only with the VASP/licensed phase — and the Treasury SVF bill (2027) is being designed-for, not waited-for.
The Doof — smallest unit AND not-for-profit (2026-09-09 decision)
The doof keeps its job as the base unit and becomes the system's social-good soul: doof.ing will be set up as a not-for-profit entity, deliberately separated from qalarc's commercial operations.
The mechanism — "doof rounding": payments can round down to the nearest cent (or any chosen precision) with the dust — the doofs — donated to the Doof NFP by default, opt-out. A AU$19.9993-metered job settles at AU$19.99 and 9,300 doofs go to the NFP. Invisible per-transaction, material at scale: at base-case volume (AU$16.2M over 36 months), average dust of ~0.5% ≈ AU$80k+ of micro-donations — with zero donor friction and a complete on-chain audit trail of every doof's path (the Qoll's spots, accounted).
Structure notes (AU): registered NFP separate from qalarc (company limited by guarantee or incorporated association) → ACNC registration → charity status (purpose must fit charitable categories — digital inclusion / education / welfare are natural fits) → DGR status is a separate, harder gate, pursue later. Arm's-length rules apply: qalarc services the ecosystem at cost, documented. Add to the lawyer list alongside the token questions.
Terminology ruled (final): humans see Qals with decimals ("0.500 Qals"); machines count doofs; ticker QALS; the lowercase "qals" intermediate was considered and rejected — case-only unit distinctions are a known confusion trap (bytes/bits precedent). Doofs NFTs and Doofnet (testnet) keep their names — brand family intact.
Structure update (same day): the Doof NFP takes the form of the Church of the Doof — a religious charity under the "advancing religion" purpose (the Church of the New Faith test). Sacred duties of the faith: publish the reserves monthly (the Reading), let every doof be accounted (the Spotting), and round gently (the Giving). Doctrinal texts and ACNC strategy: see the AU Token Law Playbook §6.
Sale program (2026-09-09 policy — enforced in code)
Your payment platforms plug into top-up (PSP → Reserve → mint). Sales are finite and self-stopping:
| Tranche | QALS | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sellable via payment platforms | 500,000,000 | HARD CAP — loopd refuses any top-up past it (402, "re-evaluation required") |
| qalarc hold (the 50%) | 500,000,000 | retained |
| Vault (future program) | 3,600,000,000 | untouched until the re-evaluation at cap |
Live enforcement: loopd /report → program: {cap_cents: 50,000,000,000, sold_cents: …} — the mint gate is code, not a promise. Third-party markets & secondary price discovery: approved as a destination, sequenced behind the AUSTRAC VASP gate (see law playbook §7) — transferability stays off until the licence path clears, then external trading is permitted.