The Next Chapter Begins for W
Today, Wormhole is announcing the next major chapter for the token with the release of upgraded W 2.0 Tokenomics, enhancing the W token with the Wormhole Reserve, 4% targeted base yield on W, and an Unlock Optimization replacing annual cliffs with bi-weekly unlocks. This milestone represents a significant evolution in how Wormhole aligns incentives, distributes value, and empowers the people who help the ecosystem of Wormhole users, Integrators, and Contributors win.
Since inception almost 5 years ago in October 2020, Wormhole has been powered not only by code, but also by its community of integrators, validators, stakers, users and partners. Together, these parties have enabled the vision of a truly connected internet economy powered by the Wormhole platform and the W token.
As previously outlined, the current and future market opportunity for Wormhole is immense. Governments, institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and corporations are all launching onchain products that need distribution across blockchains. Hundreds of public and private chains are now operational, with thousands of new chains and tokenized assets coming onchain in the very near future.
As the lines between traditional and crypto rails converge, Wormhole is uniquely positioned to capture the majority of value and data transfer that will flow throughout the internet economy. Wormhole is the infrastructure connecting every person, institution, app, asset, and network, all of which drive growth and accrue value back into the Wormhole ecosystem.
What is W?
The W token is Wormhole’s native multichain asset, designed to power governance, staking, and ecosystem growth across more than 40 blockchains. With a capped supply of 10 billion, W enables participation in Wormhole Governance, aligns incentives for network security through staking, and supports long-term ecosystem development. By anchoring value and decision-making in the community, W serves as the foundation for Wormhole’s mission to connect the internet economy.
Learn more about W token and explore the W launch details.
W Token Details
Ticker: W
Maximum Supply: 10,000,000,000
Current circulating supply: ~4,763,395,812 (~46.63%)
Token Format: Native ERC-20 and Solana SPL (using Wormhole’s NTT (Native Token Transfers) standard)
Original tokenomics overview: link
In April 2024, W was distributed across these six categories:
Wormhole 2.0 - September 2025
The%20Wormhole%20Reserve
Wormhole%20Contributors%20are%20excited%20to%20announce%20their%20commitment%20to%20the%20longevity%20of%20the%20Wormhole%20protocol%20and%20W%20holders%20with%20the Wormhole%20Reserve,%20coming%20soon.%20Upon%20launch,%20this%20will%20be%20a%20strategic%20reserve%20of%20W%20where%20onchain%20and%20offchain%20protocol%20value%20will%20accumulate%20to%20support%20the%20growth%20of%20the%20Wormhole%20ecosystem.
Protocol%20Value%20and%20Revenue%20Accumulation: Wormhole%20will%20channel%20onchain%20and%20offchain%20protocol%20revenues%20and%20value%20generated%20across%20Wormhole,%20Wormhole%20Portal,%20and%20ecosystem%20applications%20into%20W,%20with%20proceeds%20contributing%20to%20the%20Wormhole%20Reserve.
Direct%20Alignment%20with%20Growth: As%20Wormhole%20adoption%20increases,%20W%20will%20accrue%20value%20through%20network%20expansions,%20Portal%20fees,%20ecosystem%20applications,%20and%20other%20mechanisms,%20ensuring%20that%20growth%20directly%20supports%20the%20Wormhole%20ecosystem.%20This%20will%20result%20in%20a%20growing%20portion%20of%20W%20to%20be%20locked%20away%20in%20the%20Wormhole%20Reserve.
4%%20Base%20Yield%20-%20Stake%20for%20Governance
Wormhole%202.0%20will%20redefine%20yield.%20W%20holders%20that%20continue%20to%20contribute%20to%20governance%20will%20soon%20begin%20to%20receive%20more%20regular%20yield.%20While%20staking%20is%20a%20variable%20reward,%20holders%20will%20be%20able%20to%20receive%20higher%20rewards%20by%20being%20active%20users%20of%20ecosystem%20applications.%20Yield%20will%20come%20from%20a%20combination%20of%20the%20existing%20token%20supply%20and%20protocol%20revenues.%20There%20is%20no%20inflation%20being%20introduced%20to%20W.%20The%20total%20supply%20remains%20capped%20at%2010%20billion%20tokens.
Portal%20Earn will%20allow%20you%20to%20accrue%20points%20that%20will%20boost%20staking%20yield%20by%20using%20Wormhole’s%20flagship%20application,%20Portal.
Future%20protocol%20revenue ensures%20that%20as%20Wormhole%20grows, W%20token%20holders%20grow%20with%20it.
Please%20note: Rewards%20are%20variable,%20not%20guaranteed,%20and%20may%20change%20or%20stop%20at%20any%20time.%20They%20are%20emissions,%20not%20interest,%20and%20confer%20no%20rights%20to%20revenues%20or%20payments.%20Portal%20Earn%20points%20adjust%20parameters%20are%20not%20cash%20or%20tokens%20and%20have%20no%20monetary%20value.
Unlock%20Optimization
The%20W%20token%20distribution%20schedule%20set%20in%20the%20early%20days%20of%20Wormhole%20(~2021)%20was%20designed%20at%20a%20time%20when%20annual%20cliff%20unlocks%20were%20a%20common%20industry%20standard.%20However,%20since%20then,%20industry%20tokenomics%20best%20practices%20have%20evolved.%20Wormhole%20is%20now%20adopting%20a%20modernized%20distribution%20schedule%20designed%20to%20maximize%20stability,%20strengthen%20long-term%20alignment,%20and%20provide%20greater%20confidence%20for%20token%20holders.
Elimination%20of%20concentrated%20annual%20W%20market%20pressure: By%20replacing%20large,%20annual%20cliffs%20with%20bi-weekly%20unlocks%20beginning%20October%203,%202025,%20W%20now%20follows%20a%20smoother,%20more%20predictable%20release%20schedule.%20This%20transition%20eliminates%20moments%20of%20concentrated%20market%20pressure%20and%20instead%20creates%20a%20steady,%20linear%20unlock%20cadence.%20The%20result%20is%20stronger%20market%20resilience,%20improved%20alignment%20for%20contributors%20and%20investors,%20and%20a%20healthier%20overall%20environment
Extended%20lock%20schedule: Wormhole%20contributors%20are%20ensuring%20that%20investors%20and%20Guardian%20validators%20are%20aligned%20with%20the%20protocol%20for%20an%20additional%206%20months%20until%20October%202028.%20Although%20Core%20Contributor%20tokens%20will%20unlock%20to%20the%20WF%20on%20a%20bi-weekly%20basis,%20all%20agreements%20with%20these%20entities%20will%20remain%20on%20the%20original%20annual%20unlock%20schedule.
The%20following%20categories%20are%20shifting%20from%20annual%20cliffs%20to%20a%20bi-weekly%20unlock%20schedule%20over%204.5%20years:
Guardian%20Nodes%20(5.1%)
Community%20&%20Launch%20(17%)
Ecosystem%20&%20Incubation%20(31%)
Strategic%20Network%20Participants%20(11.6%)
Foundation%20Treasury%20–%20No%20Change
The%20Foundation%20Treasury%20(23.3%)%20continues%20to%20follow%20its%20original%20daily%204-year%20schedule.
Core%20Contributors%20–%20No%20Change
Core%20Contributor%20allocations%20(12%)%20are%20a%20special%20case.%20While%20tokens%20technically%20now%20unlock%20to%20the%20Wormhole%20Foundation%20on%20a%20bi-weekly%20basis%20to%20essentially%20be%20held%20in%20escrow,%20all%20legal%20agreements%20maintain%20the%20original%20annual%20unlock%20schedule.%20This%20means%20that%20contributor%20tokens%20remain%20time-locked%20under%20contractual%20safeguards.
The%20updated%20token%20release%20schedule%20is%20as%20follows:
W Powering the Internet Economy Across Chains
Wormhole is connecting the internet economy, and W is the foundational token powering this future. The goal of Wormhole Contributors is to significantly expand the asset transfer and messaging volume that Wormhole facilitates over the next 1-2 years. The long-term vision is to become the de facto rails of the internet economy for all traditional and crypto-native capital markets globally.
To accomplish this, Wormhole Contributors will focus on continuing to build excellent user-facing products such as Portal, advancing Wormhole’s competitive edge in smart contract products such as NTT, Settlement, and Queries, and continuing to grow the number of institutional-grade assets that choose to leverage the unique product and security advantages that Wormhole offers.
The future is bright for the new internet economy, and Wormhole and W are positioned to be at the center powering it all.
