Soft Pressure Capped & Stepped Supply Schedule
This Wish for Change commits to fiscal responsibility by proposing a new inflation schedule with a Capped & Stepped Supply. Alternative Hard & Medium schedules are also under consideration. Vote AYE on all schedules you approve.
Total Supply - - - - 3,141,592,653 (Pi Billion) DOT
Inflation Period - - 2 Years
Step - - - - - - - - - 13.14% down from previous Period
First Step - - - - - - Mar. 14, 2026
Cap Reached - - - - Year 2060
Extra Request - - - Enshrine in JAM
Yellow line = Today's Issuance
Blue line = New Issuance
Grey line = Today's Supply Growth
Green line = New Supply Growth
The Soft Pressure inflation schedule offers a gradual 13.14% emission cut every 2 years. Compared with the Hard Pressure schedule, it begins more gradually but continues to chop down at a constant rate past 2030 to the cap in 2062. Compared to the Medium Pressure schedule, it provides more DOT issuance and sooner cap.
Compare all 3 schedules here.
Before voting or commenting, please review the mission & justification of a Capped & Stepped Supply in the forum.
Committing to long-term fiscal responsibility with a Capped & Stepped Supply implies:
- cutting unnecessary expenses
- subsidizing inflation with new sources of revenue.
To demonstrate the urgency this model presses on these goals, let's project what the future would look like with this inflation schedule as the sole source of income - the "Pessimists View" of no progress:
Red line = Staking APR
Considering a staking rate of 50% and NO new contributing revenue, this schedule offers a staking rate:
- above SOL in 2032
- above ADA & ETH in 2042.
Now lets look at what Market Cap we would need to sustain at each step for inflation to match the USD value of today's expenses ($450M) and aspirational reduced expenses ($90M).
Purple line = Market Cap required to meet $450M yearly expenses
Red line = Market Cap required to meet proposed $90M yearly expenses
Imagining NO new contributing revenue, we'd need to reach the Market Cap of:
- AVAX by 2028
- LINK by 2032
- ADA by 2040
- USDC by 2050 to sustain $450M expenses.
Imagining the same but to sustain the proposed $90M expenses, we'd need to:
- maintain the Market Cap of DOT until 2040
- reach AVAX by 2046
- reach LINK by 2052
See the Complete sheet. Compare Hard, Medium & Soft schedules side by side.
Consider: A gradual reduction of income from inflation creates urgency for the network to cut expenses and/or increase revenue instead of relying solely on inflation. This moves us to a sustainable & fiscally responsible future.
Now, here is the growth of DOT supply since Oct. 2020.
The Blue circle highlights the moment we switched to a fixed 120M DOT added to the supply every year.
And here is Security of the Polkadot network measured in USD.
When DOT is "Worth Selling" it harms network security.
Take a moment to review the tricky path we have been on under past and current inflation schedules.
There are risks, however, to adopting a Capped & Stepped Supply schedule.
Should we commit to long-term fiscal responsibility or keep the status quo?
Vote AYE on this Ref and/or Ref. 1710 and/or Ref. 1718 to adopt a Capped & Stepped Supply Schedule.
Vote NAY on all to keep status quo.
Should two or more pass, adopt the one with greatest sum of AYE with Conviction.
**What happens after Capped & Stepped Supply?**
The immediate next step is to push for the so called "Revenue Pot" suggested by Gav last month at The Web3 Summit.
This sensible new pot for income (inflation or revenue) will allow us to decouple staking/validator rewards from block rewards and drive down expenses.
Increasing revenue from Hub, Coretime, Services, MEV and other ideas in discussion will become urgent under Capped & Stepped supply.
**Other economic parameters that will remain under the purview of OpenGov?**
- % of inflation (or Revenue Pot) to treasury
- treasury burn
- % of fees burned
- % of coretime burned
- floor price of coretime
- minimum validator commission
- future growth incentives such as some undergoing early discussion.
These parameters provide meaningful leverage on economic policy beyond the scope of Capped & Stepped supply.
Handy Links:
DOT RFP #1 - Crowdsourced Research: Capped Supply & Step Change Inflation
Capped & Stepped Supply Research Dashboard
Stepped & Capped Inflation Model-maker
Parity Inflation Selling Charts
Forum Capped & Stepped Overview
Test Hard Pressure Forum Post
Test Med Pressure Forum Post
Test Soft Pressure Forum Post
Off-chain 1.89M DOT Vote
Gavin Wood Suggests Capped & Stepped in April 2024
"Worth that risk" - Gavin Wood in July 2025
Comments (3)
Voting has Started
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Summary
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Aye (11)0.0 DOT
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Nay (42)0.0 DOT
Here we will update & answer any Fears, Uncertainties & Doubts expressed during Refs to Commit to long-term fiscal responsibility with a Capped & Stepped Supply schedule HERE.
Thank you for your thoughtful and productive discourse on the matter. ❤️
My Arguments for Voting Aye on Ref 1709
1. Balanced fiscal discipline with gradual return to sustainability
Ref 1709 introduces a Soft Pressure inflation schedule that lowers emissions by 13.14% every two years, establishing a clear supply cap (~3.14 billion DOT) by around 2060. This measured reduction preserves network stability and avoids abrupt shocks, while still embedding a commitment to long-term fiscal responsibility.
2. Avoids premature stripping of policy levers
Unlike the Hard‑Pressure model (Ref 1710), which slashes inflation steeply upfront (52–54 %) , the Soft‑Pressure model maintains policy flexibility. If we curtail inflation too aggressively now, we risk eliminating critical resources for future economic stimulus or roadmap pivoting.
3. Growth incentives remain speculative and unproven
Referendum 1711 proposes a "Growth Incentives" pool and mechanisms to intentionally drive DOT demand through economic activity, for example, directing a portion of inflation into funding parachain growth. But as commenters note, this idea remains early-stage and untested:
4. "Soft Pressure" avoids over-leveraging while preserving upside
Since growth incentives exist in nascent form, locking them into the inflation schedule now risks constraining future adaptability. Soft Pressure ensures we don’t over-commit or hamper economic policy tools prematurely.
5. Soft Pressure enables orderly progression toward sustainable growth
By reducing emissions gradually, we provide breathing room for:
Summary of Key Benefits
Final Recommendation
Voting Aye on Ref 1709 strikes the ideal balance between embedding fiscal responsibility and preserving the optionality necessary for sound economic policy. It sets a measured path forward—reducing inflation sustainably, while leaving room for growth mechanisms like Growth Incentives to be thoughtfully designed, evaluated, and implemented when mature.
This approach ensures we don’t burn critical tools before they’ve proven their value.