$SYMBI token policy

Executive summary. The $SYMBI token (if deployed) is a governance and quality-assurance instrument only — designed to avoid financialisation of governance. Tokens are earned through contribution and quality (CIQ/Trust Receipts) rather than sold as an investment. All commercial fees remain in fiat/stablecoins.

Core principles

• No investment expectation: $SYMBI confers governance voice and quality-staking utilities, not profit rights.
• Governance-only utility: Primary purpose is parameter voting, quality staking, and protocol operations.
• Earned distribution: Tokens are allocated for contribution, not sold in primary markets.
• Compliance-first: Legal opinions, monitoring, and adaptive controls underpin policy.

Distribution & mechanics

The reference economics use a fixed-supply model to minimise inflationary pressures and speculation:

• Total supply: 1,000,000,000 $SYMBI (fixed).
• Initial distribution: 100,000,000 (10%) allocated to founding contributors with vesting (4 years, 1-year cliff).
• Community pool: 900,000,000 (90%) reserved for earned distribution based on contribution criteria.
• Allocation model: Token_Allocation = Base_Contribution × Quality_Multiplier × Consistency_Bonus × Time_Factor — where quality is CIQ-derived.
• Staking & slashing: Quality staking and validator bonding secure Trust Receipt validation; dishonest behaviour is subject to slashing (burn) and penalties.
• Circulation controls: Earned release, staking lock-ups, burn on slashing, and vesting reduce speculative velocity.

Governance functions

Tokens enhance governance participation but do not replace reputation-first controls:

• Weighted voting: Token holdings provide additional voting weight for parameter decisions.
• Proposal thresholds: Minimum token holdings required to submit certain classes of proposals; reputation remains primary for many flows.
• Delegation: Token-based delegation available to trusted delegates.
• Quorums: Minimum participation thresholds ensure legitimacy of token-weighted votes.

Regulatory & legal posture

The policy emphasises proactive compliance and documentation:

• Howey analysis: Design choices (no primary sale, earned distribution, explicit no-profit disclosures) aim to reduce securities risk.
• Legal monitoring: Continuous regulatory tracking and periodic legal opinions ensure adaptation to jurisdictional developments.
• Operational controls: KYC/AML for significant allocations, geographic restrictions, and audit trails for transparency.
• Disclaimers: Prominent investment disclaimers and risk disclosures accompany any token-related documentation.

Quality & economic security

Tokens integrate with quality mechanisms to align incentives:

• CIQ staking: Stake tokens predicting CIQ outcomes to underwrite quality claims; honest stakers earn rewards from penalty pools.
• Validator bonding: Validators bond tokens as economic security; slashing for dishonest validation reduces supply and funds rewards.
• Anti-gaming: Slashing conditions, economic costs, and monitoring reduce incentives for manipulation.

Implementation roadmap (illustrative)

1. Phase 1 — Foundation (Months 1–6): Legal framework, core smart contracts, vesting, and governance integration tests.
2. Phase 2 — Community distribution (Months 7–18): Earned distribution, CIQ staking launch, validator network trials.
3. Phase 3 — Ecosystem maturity (Months 19+): Decentralised operations, cross-protocol integrations, advanced delegation features.

Risks & mitigations

Principal risks include securities classification, governance capture, economic attack vectors, and jurisdictional complexity. Mitigations are proactive legal counsel, reputation-weighted governance, slashing economics, and emergency governance protocols.

Document version: 1.0 — This summary does not constitute legal advice. Contact: legal@symbi.world