Aptos Foundation Plans to Lock 210 Million APT Permanently

The Aptos Foundation plans to permanently lock and stake 210 million Aptos (APT), shifting its operating model toward staking rewards while reducing future token supply growth.

The Foundation announced the plan Feb. 18, 2026, as part of AIP-140, an accepted tokenomics proposal with a last-call period ending March 6, 2026. The locked tokens represent nearly 18% of APT’s circulating supply and about 37% of the Foundation’s original mainnet allocation.

The Foundation will not sell or distribute the 210 million APT. Instead, it plans to stake the tokens perpetually and use the rewards to support operations.

The proposal would lower Aptos’ annual staking-reward rate from 5.19% to 2.6%. As of Oct. 8, 2026, the annual staking-reward rate was 2.6%, while monthly emissions were 1.5 million APT.

AIP-140 also sets a maximum supply of 2.1 billion APT. Minting beyond that ceiling would require governance approval. The plan calls for gas fees to increase tenfold, with all transaction fees paid in APT burned. The Foundation estimated that a stablecoin transfer would cost about $0.00014 after the increase.

Aptos had burned 1.9 million APT since its October 2022 mainnet launch, with a rolling annualized burn estimate of 2 million APT as of Oct. 8, 2026.

The Foundation’s four-year unlock cycle for initial investors and core contributors is scheduled to conclude in October 2026. That change would reduce annualized supply unlocks by 60%. The Foundation’s February update listed 1.196 billion APT in circulation.

Aptos uses APT for transaction fees, staking and governance. The tokenomics plan links future supply more closely to network activity by combining lower staking issuance, a supply ceiling and fee burns.

The proposal’s last-call period ended March 6, 2026.