Tokenomics
Human Reputation (HREP) token distribution, question funding, and point mechanics.
Overview
Human Reputation (HREP) is a reputation token, not money. It cannot be bought, has no token sale, and is distributed through protocol-controlled pools to verified humans and active participants.
Token Overview
| Name | Human Reputation |
| Symbol | HREP |
| Max Supply | 100,000,000 HREP |
| Decimals | 6 |
| Type | Reputation token (non-financial) |
Supply is fixed at 100 million HREP. The full supply is minted at launch into protocol-controlled pools, with no team allocation or token sale.
Token Distribution
| Pool | Allocation | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Faucet Pool | 52,000,000 HREP | One-time claims for verified humans (10,000 to 1 HREP per claim, tiered by adoption, serves up to ~41M users) |
| Bootstrap Pool | 12,000,000 HREP | Bootstraps early adoption -- voter bootstrap rewards become claimable after round settlement, and the rate halves based on cumulative HREP distributed from the pool. |
| Treasury | 32,000,000 HREP | Governance-controlled HREP tokens for ecosystem grants, partner activation, whistleblower rewards, and protocol development |
| Consensus Subsidy Reserve | 4,000,000 HREP | Pre-funded reserve for unanimous agreement rewards, replenished by 5% of each round's losing stakes |
Identity Claim
Verified humans claim once through Self.xyz passport or biometric ID card verification. Claimants must prove they are 18 or older, pass sanctions screening, and not be from a configured sanctioned-country jurisdiction such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria. Claim size falls as adoption grows.
| Tier | Claimants | Claim (no referral) | Claim (with referral) | Referrer gets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (Genesis) | 0 – 9 | 10,000 HREP | 15,000 HREP | 5,000 HREP |
| 1 (Early Adopter) | 10 – 999 | 1,000 HREP | 1,500 HREP | 500 HREP |
| 2 (Pioneer) | 1,000 – 9,999 | 100 HREP | 150 HREP | 50 HREP |
| 3 (Explorer) | 10,000 – 999,999 | 10 HREP | 15 HREP | 5 HREP |
| 4 (Settler) | 1,000,000+ | 1 HREP | 1.5 HREP | 0.5 HREP |
Bootstrap Rewards
The Bootstrap Pool solves the cold start problem. When the platform is new and vote stakes are small, round rewards alone may not be enough to attract voters. The Bootstrap Pool pays proportional HREP bonuses based on stake amount: winning revealed voters claim bootstrap rewards after round settlement, and the voter reward rate is snapshotted at resolution time for fairness. Early participants receive the most thanks to a halving schedule as cumulative rewards grow and the reward rate decreases.
Reward formula: reward = stakeAmount × currentRate. The rate starts at 90% and halves based on cumulative HREP distributed from the pool — making the pool's lifetime predictable regardless of individual stake sizes. Rewards are always less than the staked amount, ensuring bootstrap rewards are a bonus, not a primary incentive.
| Tier | HREP distributed | Cumulative | Rate | Stake 10 HREP | Stake 100 HREP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | 90% | 9 HREP | 90 HREP |
| 1 | 3,000,000 | 4,500,000 | 45% | 4.5 HREP | 45 HREP |
| 2 | 6,000,000 | 10,500,000 | 22.5% | 2.25 HREP | 22.5 HREP |
| Tail | 1,500,000 | 12,000,000 | 11.25% | 1.125 HREP | 11.25 HREP |
Bootstrap rewards are paid only after a round resolves successfully.
Bounties
Bounties are separate from HREP bootstrap rewards. They are attached at submission, funded in HREP or USDC on Celo, scoped to one question or a question bundle, and split across eligible revealed voters in each qualified bounty round after a 3% frontend-operator share. Bundle bounties can require multiple settlement round sets; each set requires every bundled question to settle once and is claimed independently. If the commit-attributed frontend is not payable, that share stays with the voter claim. Bounty required-voter terms cannot exceed the question's selected voter cap.
Feedback Bonuses
Feedback Bonuses are separate, optional USDC pools. They reward revealed voters for useful hidden feedback after settlement, pay immediately in the award transaction, reserve the same 3% eligible frontend share, and send expired unawarded USDC to treasury.
Treasury
The protocol treasury starts with 32M HREP on the governor/timelock from launch. It grows over time through three main ongoing inflow sources: a 1% treasury fee on contested losing pools, cancellation fees from voluntary content withdrawals, and forfeited unrevealed past-epoch votes swept during settlement cleanup. Treasury spending follows the same governance proposal path as upgrades and other governed config changes.
Appropriate treasury uses include ecosystem grants, partner activation, integration support, research and data work, protocol development, security responses, and whistleblower rewards. HREP grants are not protocol-backed payments; they distribute reputation and voting power, so proposals should state why the recipient should hold HREP and what follow-up reporting or milestone evidence voters should expect.
Round Payouts
When a round is resolved, winners recover their original stake and claim from the content-specific voter pool. Revealed losers can reclaim 5% of raw stake, and the remaining losing pool is split across voters, frontend operators, consensus reserve, and treasury.
Staking Requirements
| Action | Stake | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vote on content | 1–100 HREP | Per vote, per round |
| Ask a question | 1 HREP or 1 USDC minimum | The minimum is non-refundable. It is attached at submission and pays eligible voters if the question qualifies. Bounties can use HREP or USDC. |
| Fund a Feedback Bonus | USDC only | Optional; unawarded remainder goes to treasury after the award deadline |
| Register as frontend | 1,000 HREP | Returned on exit unless slashed |
Question creators no longer escrow separate capital beyond the bounty. Submission bounties are non-refundable and route to eligible voters and the eligible frontend operator once the question resolves.