PIL Token Economics
PIL is a pure utility token designed exclusively for operational use within Pilier blockchain. It is not a tradable asset and maintains a stable target value of €1 per PIL.
Token Overview
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | PIL |
| Target Value | 1 PIL ≈ €1 |
| Decimals | 6 |
| Genesis Supply | 3,000,000 PIL |
| Type | Non-tradable utility token |
| Distribution | Strategic allocation (No Public Sale) |
PIL is not designed for speculation or investment. It serves as "trust fuel" for blockchain operations and a "vote" in protocol governance. It cannot be traded on external exchanges.
Why PIL Exists
The Problem with Traditional Blockchain Tokens
Most blockchain tokens suffer from:
- 💸 Price volatility (unpredictable costs for business budgeting)
- 📈 Speculation (price driven by market hype, not actual utility)
- 🌐 Regulatory complexity (exchange listings trigger MiCA/financial oversight)
The PIL Solution
PIL is designed for industrial reliability:
- ✅ Stable pricing: 1 PIL ≈ €1 (predictable costs via internal target policy)
- ✅ Utility-only: No trading, no speculation, no market manipulation
- ✅ Deflationary health: 5% of all transaction fees are permanently burned
- ✅ Sustainable: Dynamic inflation balances validator rewards until fees scale
Supply Model
Genesis Supply
Total supply at launch: 3,000,000 PIL
Inflation Mechanism
PIL uses dynamic inflation to bootstrap validator sustainability during the network growth phase:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Initial Inflation | 2.5% annually (~75,000 PIL/year) |
| Maximum Cap | 5% annually (governance-adjustable) |
| Purpose | Validator subsidy during low-volume periods |
| Long-term Target | 0% (when transaction fees are sufficient) |
How it works:
Target validator income: €500/month/validator Current fee income: €X/month
If fees < target: → Mint inflation or draw from Incentive Pool to cover gap Else: → No inflation needed (self-sustainable)
Key insight: As network adoption grows and transaction fees increase, inflation automatically decreases. Eventually, validators become fully self-funded by fees, and inflation can be turned off via governance.
Protocol Fee Burn
To ensure long-term economic health and prevent supply bloating, the protocol implements a 5% burn mechanism:
- 95% of fees: Distributed to validators (and later Treasury).
- 5% of fees: Permanently removed from circulation (burned).
Why burn?
This creates a healthy deflationary offset to the bootstrap inflation. As transaction volume scales, the 5% burn ensures the total supply remains stable or becomes slightly deflationary, increasing the value of network governance.
Token Allocation
PIL tokens are allocated from genesis supply with a focus on ecosystem scalability and European adoption:
| Pool | Percentage | Amount (PIL) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem & Modules | 40% | 1,200,000 | Grants for ERP/TMS integrators, connector development, industry presets |
| User Credits & Civic | 20% | 600,000 | Free credits for NGOs, universities, and public pilots |
| Treasury (SaaS Ops) | 15% | 450,000 | Client transaction sponsorship via pilier.org (revolving fund) |
| Team & Advisors | 15% | 450,000 | Protocol governance via tPIL. Linear vesting over 48 months |
| Validator Incentives | 10% | 300,000 | Validator subsidies during low transaction volume phase |
| Total | 100% | 3,000,000 | — |
Allocation Details
Ecosystem & Modules (40%) - Scaling Fund
The largest allocation funds pan-European ecosystem growth:
Target: 80+ integrations across Europe by 2027
- ERP connectors: SAP, Odoo, Microsoft Dynamics integration grants
- TMS integrations: Transport Management Systems (DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, etc.)
- Industry presets: Ready-made DPP templates for textiles, electronics, batteries
- PLM/MES bridges: Product Lifecycle Management systems
- IoT integrations: Sensor data feeds for real-time compliance
Grant structure:
Small integration (e.g., Odoo connector):
├─ 5,000 PIL milestone-based
└─ ~€5,000 equivalent
Large integration (e.g., SAP module):
├─ 50,000 PIL milestone-based
└─ ~€50,000 equivalent
Industry preset (e.g., Textile DPP template):
├─ 15,000 PIL
└─ Maintenance: 3,000 PIL/year
Vesting: Milestone-based releases with clawback provisions.
User Credits & Civic (20%) - Public Utility Layer
Positioning Pilier as a European public good:
This allocation is dedicated to Public Good Adoption, ensuring that the cost of verifiable compliance never becomes a barrier to transparency. By subsidizing on-chain activities for non-commercial actors, Pilier establishes a resilient, civic-driven trust layer that aligns with European sovereign values and environmental oversight.
Free timestamping and DPP creation for:
- 🏛️ Universities: Research data timestamping, thesis proofs
- 🌍 NGOs: Supply chain transparency, sustainability reporting
- 🏢 Municipalities: Public procurement tracking
- 🔬 Research labs: IP protection, experimental data integrity
Example allocations:
University pilot:
├─ 10,000 PIL credit (~10,000 free timestamps)
└─ Renewable annually if active
NGO partnership:
├─ 5,000 PIL credit
└─ Focus on textile/electronics traceability
Purpose: Create legitimacy and "public utility" narrative for regulators and policymakers.
Treasury (SaaS Ops) (15%) - Revolving Fund
Operational capital for pilier.org client sponsorship:
How it works:
Client subscribes €499/month
↓
Treasury allocates 499 PIL from this pool
↓
Client uses 300 PIL for transactions
↓
199 PIL unused → returns to Treasury at month end
↓
Pool replenishes continuously
Sustainability:
- Replenishment: 95% of fees flow back to the pool, while 5% are burned to maintain long-term supply health
- Circular economy model
- Self-replenishing over time
Initial capacity: 450,000 PIL = 900 client-months at €499/month (~75 clients for 12 months)
Team & Advisors (15%) - Governance Alignment
Founder tokens exclusively for protocol security and governance:
Key points:
- ✅ Not for sale: Tokens locked in tPIL (vote-escrowed)
- ✅ Governance only: Used to vote on protocol upgrades, fee adjustments
- ✅ Vesting: Linear over 48 months (12-month cliff)
- ✅ Clawback: Tokens reclaimed if founders depart early
tPIL conversion:
Founder locks 100,000 PIL for 48 months
↓
Receives 100,000 tPIL (vote-escrowed PIL)
↓
1 tPIL = 1 vote on governance proposals
Why this matters: Aligns founder incentives with long-term protocol health, not short-term token price.
Validator Incentives (10%) - Bootstrap Subsidy
Covers validator income gap during low-volume phase:
Duration: ~10 years at current subsidy rate
The 300,000 PIL reserve pool acts as a safety buffer. Combined with the 2.5% annual inflation (75,000 PIL/year), it ensures validator sustainability for 10+ years even at high node-counts
Then:
├─ Transaction fees increase (adoption grows)
├─ Subsidy decreases (less needed)
└─ Pool lasts 10+ years
Access: Automatically distributed via inflation mechanism (no manual grants).
Validator Economics
Income Sources
Validators earn from two sources:
1. Transaction Fees (Primary)
Every on-chain operation pays a technical gas fee to ensure network security and priority:
| Operation | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|
| Balance transfer | 0.001 PIL (€0.001) |
| Register document | 0.0025 PIL (€0.0025) |
| Create DPP | 0.004 PIL (€0.004) |
| Update DPP state | 0.0015 PIL (€0.0015) |
| Trigger agent | 0.005+ PIL (varies) |
Fee distribution:
- 95% → Validators (split equally among the active set)
- 5% → Protocol Burn (permanently removed to offset inflation)
Example (3 validators):
Transaction fee: 0.01 PIL
├─ Burned: 0.0005 PIL (5%)
├─ To validators: 0.0095 PIL (95%)
└─ Per validator: 0.00317 PIL
2. Inflation Subsidy (Bootstrap Phase)
During the initial phase with lower transaction volumes, the protocol "tops up" validator earnings to meet the €500/month target
Example (3 validators, Year 1):
- Monthly fees: €100 total (after burn)
- Income per validator from fees: €33.33/month
- Gap to target: €466.67/month
- Subsidy: The protocol mints 1,400 PIL from the monthly inflation pool (max 6,250 PIL available).
- Total income: €500/month per validator ✓
Example (3 validators, Year 3):
- Monthly fees: €1,500 total (after burn)
- Income per validator from fees: €500/month
- Gap to target: €0
- Subsidy: 0 PIL (Inflation is automatically turned off)
- Result: Network is fully self-sustainable via fees ✓
tPIL Conversion for Validators
Validators are highly encouraged to convert their PIL rewards into tPIL (Vote-Escrowed PIL) to gain long-term influence over the protocol.
Governance Multipliers: Locking tokens for longer periods grants exponentially more voting power:
- 12-month lock: 1 PIL = 1 tPIL
- 24-month lock: 1 PIL = 2 tPIL
- 48-month lock: 1 PIL = 4 tPIL
Validator Impact: By holding tPIL, validators can vote on:
- 🛠️ Fee Adjustments: Increasing or decreasing base gas costs.
- 📈 Inflation Rates: Controlling the bootstrap subsidy speed.
- 🛡️ Network Upgrades: Approving new pallets and security patches.
Example: A validator earns 1,000 PIL and locks 500 PIL for 48 months. They receive 2,000 tPIL in voting power, gaining significant leverage in shaping the Pilier ecosystem compared to those who do not lock.
Transaction Economics
Fee Lifecycle
Technical vs. Commercial Pricing
Important distinction:
Technical gas cost (on-chain):
Register document: 0.0025 PIL
└─ Pure computational and storage cost of the network
Commercial SaaS pricing (pilier.org):
Business Tier: €499/month
├─ Includes: 10,000 document registrations
├─ Covers: Managed infrastructure, 24/7 support, compliance updates
└─ Gas is just one component (approx. 25 PIL) of the total service value
Why this matters: Blockchain fees are minimal (€0.0025/document), but full service includes hosting, backups, compliance updates, customer support, etc.
Price Stability
Target: 1 PIL ≈ €1
PIL maintains a stable target value through operational design:
How Stability is Achieved
- No public trading: PIL cannot be bought/sold on exchanges
- Fixed client pricing: pilier.org always prices subscriptions in euros
- Internal conversion: Treasury converts € to PIL at 1:1 ratio
- Predictable costs: Transaction fees set in PIL but denominated in €
Why Stability Matters
For validators:
€500/month income is predictable
→ Can budget for hosting costs
→ No exchange rate risk
For clients:
€499/month subscription = 499 PIL allocation
→ Transparent costs
→ No surprise bills
For developers:
Gas costs known in advance
→ Can estimate operational expenses
→ No need to monitor token price
Not a Peg
PIL is not algorithmically pegged to EUR. The 1:1 ratio is maintained through:
- Operational policy (pilier.org internal pricing)
- Limited circulation (no external market)
- Governance oversight (can adjust if needed)
Governance
Who Controls PIL
The protocol follows a staged decentralization roadmap to ensure both initial stability and long-term community sovereignty.
Phase 1 (Testnet):
- Governance: Sudo key held by Pilier multisig (Founding Team).
- Focus: Technical stability, fast iteration, and protocol stress-testing.
Phase 2 (Mainnet Launch):
- Governance: Sudo key is removed. On-chain voting is enabled for technical partners and validators.
- Model: Basic token-weighted voting (1 PIL = 1 vote).
Phase 3 (Maturity - tPIL): Transition to the PIL Trust (tPIL) system to ensure long-term alignment and prevent short-term governance attacks.
Time-lock mechanics: Users lock their PIL to receive tPIL. Voting power increases non-linearly with the commitment duration:
| Lock Duration | Voting Power Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 1 month | 1.0× (Base) |
| 12 months | 2.0× |
| 24 months | 3.5× |
| 48 months | 5.0× (Maximum) |
Example:
- Alice locks 1,000 PIL for 12 months → Receives 2,000 tPIL.
- Bob locks 1,000 PIL for 48 months → Receives 5,000 tPIL. Bob has 2.5× more influence than Alice, despite having the same amount of tokens, due to his long-term commitment.
Decay Mechanism: tPIL power decays linearly as the lock period expires. To maintain maximum influence, participants must periodically "re-lock" their tokens.
Governance Scope
To protect the protocol’s integrity, governance is restricted to operational parameters:
✅ What can be adjusted (via tPIL vote):
- Transaction fees: Adjusting gas costs to reflect infrastructure reality.
- Inflation rates: Tuning the bootstrap subsidy (within the 5% cap).
- Validator Set: Adding or removing institutional nodes.
- Treasury Allocation: Deciding on ecosystem grant priorities.
❌ What CANNOT be changed:
- Retroactive supply changes: No "burning" of others' tokens or supply resets.
- Confiscation: No unilateral taking of client or partner tokens.
- Minting beyond cap: The governance cannot override the maximum annual inflation ceiling.
PIL Trust (tPIL): Reputation Layer
What is tPIL?
PIL Trust (tPIL) represents a participant's long-term commitment and reputation within the Pilier ecosystem.
Unlike PIL (the utility token), tPIL is:
- ❌ Non-transferable (cannot be bought or sold)
- ✅ Earned through commitment (lock PIL for time period)
- ✅ Multi-dimensional utility (governance + marketplace + social proof)
- ✅ Slashable (lost if misbehave)
Core principle: Beyond protocol governance, tPIL serves as a cross-project trust metric, enabling secure interactions and reputation-based security for partners building on Pilier infrastructure.
How to Earn tPIL
Lock PIL tokens for a specified duration:
| Lock Duration | Trust Multiplier | Example (1,000 PIL) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 1.0× | 1,000 tPIL |
| 6 months | 1.5× | 1,500 tPIL |
| 12 months | 2.0× | 2,000 tPIL |
| 24 months | 3.5× | 3,500 tPIL |
| 48 months | 5.0× | 5,000 tPIL |
Example:
Alice locks 5,000 PIL for 24 months
↓
Receives 17,500 tPIL (3.5× multiplier)
↓
Can use for governance, marketplace trust bonds, etc.
Trust Decay
tPIL decays linearly as lock period expires:
Lock 1,000 PIL for 12 months → receive 2,000 tPIL
After 6 months: 1,000 tPIL remaining
After 12 months: 0 tPIL (must re-lock)
Why decay? Trust must be continuously demonstrated, not accumulated once.
Use Cases for tPIL
1. Protocol Governance
Vote on proposals with 1 tPIL = 1 vote:
- Transaction fee adjustments
- Validator set changes
- Treasury fund allocations
- Runtime upgrades
See Governance for details.
2. Marketplace Trust Bonds
For P2P platforms building on Pilier:
Seller reputation system:
High-trust seller (10,000 tPIL):
├─ Can list high-value items
├─ Lower escrow requirements
└─ "Verified Trusted Seller" badge
New seller (100 tPIL):
├─ Limited to small transactions
├─ Higher escrow requirements
└─ Must build reputation
Slashing mechanism:
Seller stakes 500 tPIL on transaction
Buyer disputes quality
↓
Decentralized arbitration
↓
If seller guilty:
├─ 500 tPIL slashed (burned)
├─ Underlying PIL remains locked
└─ Seller's trust score damaged
If seller innocent:
├─ 500 tPIL returned
└─ Buyer may lose dispute fee
Economic protection: Since tPIL is backed by locked PIL (~€1 each), slashing represents real financial loss.
3. Priority Verification
Public verifier prioritizes high-trust participants:
| Trust Level | Verification Priority | Public Explorer Badge |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1,000 tPIL | Standard queue | None |
| 1,000-10,000 tPIL | Fast-track (+50% speed) | ⭐ Verified |
| 10,000+ tPIL | Instant processing | ⭐⭐ Trusted Partner |
Why this matters: In disputes or audits, high-trust timestamps carry more weight.
4. Fee Discounts
Reward long-term participants with lower operational costs:
| Trust Level | Transaction Fee Discount |
|---|---|
| 0 tPIL | 0% (base rate) |
| 1,000 tPIL | 10% discount |
| 10,000 tPIL | 25% discount |
| 100,000 tPIL | 50% discount (maximum) |
Example:
Base DPP creation: 0.004 PIL
Alice (10,000 tPIL):
└─ Pays 0.003 PIL (25% discount)
Bob (0 tPIL):
└─ Pays 0.004 PIL (full price)
5. Community Grant Voting
tPIL holders participate in civic allocation decisions:
User Credits & Civic Pool (20% of supply):
Quarterly vote:
- Which NGOs receive free credits?
- Which university pilots to fund?
- Community-proposed initiatives
Voting power: 1 tPIL = 1 vote
Example allocation:
Proposal: "Grant 5,000 PIL to Ocean Cleanup Foundation"
Vote results:
├─ 150,000 tPIL in favor (60%)
├─ 100,000 tPIL against (40%)
└─ Proposal passes ✓
tPIL vs. Reputation Systems Comparison
| System | Pilier tPIL | eBay Feedback | Trust Pilot | Ethereum ENS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transferable | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Financial backing | ✅ Locked PIL | ❌ None | ❌ None | ❌ None |
| Slashable | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Time-weighted | ✅ Yes (decay) | ✅ Partial | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Cross-platform | ✅ Yes | ❌ eBay only | ❌ Site-specific | ⚠️ Limited |
Pilier advantage: tPIL is both provably backed (locked PIL) and universally portable (any app on Pilier can read trust scores).
Who Should Earn tPIL?
Validators
Lock validator rewards → tPIL
Purpose: Governance voting, protocol security
Typical: 50,000-200,000 tPIL
Team & Advisors
Lock founder allocation → tPIL
Purpose: Long-term protocol alignment
Typical: 100,000-500,000 tPIL (48-month locks)
Marketplace Sellers
Lock 1,000-10,000 PIL → tPIL
Purpose: Trust bonds, lower fees
Typical: 2,000-20,000 tPIL
NGOs & Universities
Receive civic grants → option to lock → tPIL
Purpose: Vote on future civic allocations
Typical: 5,000-50,000 tPIL
Power Users
Lock subscription savings → tPIL
Purpose: Fee discounts, governance participation
Typical: 500-5,000 tPIL
FAQ
Q: Can I buy tPIL? No. tPIL can only be earned by locking PIL. This prevents plutocracy (rich buying influence).
Q: What happens if I'm slashed? Your tPIL is burned (destroyed). The underlying PIL remains locked until the original lock period expires.
Q: Can I unlock early? Yes, but with penalties:
- Early unlock forfeits all tPIL multiplier benefits
- Potential cooldown period (governance-adjustable)
- Loss of accumulated trust score
Q: Is tPIL a separate token? No. tPIL is a balance calculation stored on-chain, not a transferable token. It exists only as reputation.
Q: Can projects outside Pilier use tPIL? Yes! Any application can query a user's tPIL balance on-chain and use it for trust-based features (priority access, discounts, reputation badges, etc.).
Economic Sustainability
Bootstrap Phase (Year 1-3)
Challenge: Low transaction volume, validators need subsidy
Solution:
Revenue from pilier.org subscriptions: €X
├─ Covers development costs
└─ Inflation covers validator gap
PIL minted annually: ~75,000 PIL (2.5%)
├─ 100% to validators
└─ Temporary until fees sufficient
Self-Sustaining Phase (Year 3+)
Milestone: Transaction fees exceed validator costs
Result:
No more inflation needed
├─ Validators fully self-funded
├─ Excess fees replenish Operational Pool
└─ Network economically independent
Long-Term Scenarios
Conservative (50,000 tx/month)
Monthly fees: 50,000 × €0.003 = €150
Validators (3): €50/validator/month
├─ Not sufficient (need €500/validator)
└─ Inflation subsidy: €1,350/month
Base (300,000 tx/month)
Monthly fees: 300,000 × €0.003 = €900
Validators (3): €300/validator/month
├─ Getting close (need €500/validator)
└─ Inflation subsidy: €600/month
Growth (500,000 tx/month)
Monthly fees: 500,000 × €0.003 = €1,500
Validators (3): €500/validator/month
├─ Self-sustainable! ✓
└─ No inflation needed
Use Cases for PIL
1. Gas for Transactions
Primary use: pay for on-chain operations
// Client submits DPP creation
const tx = api.tx.dpp.create(productId, metadata);
// Gas paid from client's sponsored allocation
await tx.signAndSend(clientAccount);
// Cost: 0.004 PIL (deducted from 499 PIL monthly budget)
2. Validator Bonds (Future)
If validators become permissionless (post-mainnet):
Validator must stake:
├─ 10,000 PIL (~€10,000) as collateral
├─ Locked while validating
└─ Slashable if misbehaves
Note: Not applicable during institutional validator phase.
3. Governance Voting
Vote on protocol changes:
Lock 1,000 PIL for 12 months
├─ Receive 1,000 tPIL (vote-escrowed PIL)
└─ 1 tPIL = 1 vote on proposals
Longer locks = more voting power.
4. Developer Grants
External developers receive PIL grants:
Build custom pallet:
├─ Milestone 1: 5,000 PIL (design approved)
├─ Milestone 2: 10,000 PIL (testnet deployment)
└─ Milestone 3: 5,000 PIL (mainnet audit passed)
Comparison with Other Models
PIL vs. Traditional Blockchain Tokens
| Feature | PIL (Pilier) | Bitcoin/Ethereum | Polkadot DOT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Utility only | Store of value / Gas | Governance + Staking |
| Price | Stable (~€1) | Volatile | Volatile |
| Trading | No exchanges | Public exchanges | Public exchanges |
| Speculation | Not possible | Primary use case | Common |
| Inflation | 0-5% (temporary) | Fixed / Low | ~10% annual |
| Use Case | DPP compliance | Payments / Smart contracts | Parachain bonding |
PIL vs. Stablecoins (USDC, DAI)
| Feature | PIL | USDC | DAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backed by | Operational policy | USD reserves | Collateral (crypto) |
| Redeemable | No | Yes (1:1 USD) | Yes (market rate) |
| Transferable | Within ecosystem only | Freely | Freely |
| Target value | €1 | $1 | $1 |
| Regulation | Not a security | E-money license | Decentralized |
Key difference: PIL is not redeemable for fiat and cannot leave the Pilier ecosystem.
FAQ
What happens to the 5% burned fees?
Answer: Burned PIL is permanently removed from circulation. These tokens are sent to an unspendable "null" address and can never be recovered.
Why implement a burn mechanism?
- Inflation Offset: It prevents long-term supply bloating caused by initial validator bootstrap subsidies.
- Deflationary Pressure: As network adoption grows, the burn rate naturally increases, rewarding the ecosystem's longevity and stability.
- Economic Balance: Every transaction contributes to the overall "health" of the network by reducing the total supply.
Economic Example:
- Year 1: Inflation (+75,000 PIL) vs. Burn (-5,000 PIL) = +70,000 PIL net supply change.
- Year 5 (High Adoption): Inflation (+10,000 PIL) vs. Burn (-50,000 PIL) = -40,000 PIL (Net Deflation).
Can PIL inflate indefinitely?
No. Inflation is strictly capped at 5% annually and requires a formal tPIL governance vote to be adjusted.
Expected trajectory:
- Year 1-2: ~2.5% inflation (essential validator subsidy to ensure €500/month target).
- Year 3-5: ~1% inflation (gradually phasing out as transaction volume scales).
- Year 5+: 0% inflation (the network becomes fully self-sustainable through transaction fees).
Why not use an existing stablecoin (like USDC or EURC)?
1. Regulatory Compliance (MiCA): Stablecoins often trigger "Asset-Referenced Token" status under EU MiCA regulations, requiring complex e-money licenses and redemption obligations. PIL is a non-redeemable utility credit, making it legally resilient. 2. Technical Flexibility: PIL enables "Sponsored Transactions" (SaaS-first UX), allowing clients to use the blockchain without managing gas or wallets directly. 3. Ecosystem Governance: PIL allows the protocol to link voting power (tPIL) directly to the utility and commitment of the participants.
Can I buy PIL on a public exchange?
No. PIL is not a tradable asset and has no secondary market. It is distributed exclusively through:
- Client Subscriptions: Allocated via pilier.org for transaction sponsorship.
- Validator Rewards: Earned for securing the network and maintaining high uptime.
- Ecosystem Grants: Provided to developers and partners building connectors or presets.
What if the value deviates from 1 PIL = €1?
The 1:1 ratio is maintained through operational policy, not algorithmic pegs:
- Pilier.org always prices services in Euros and converts to PIL at 1:1 internally.
- Since there is no external market, there is no price volatility driven by speculation.
- If infrastructure costs change, governance adjusts the transaction fee (e.g., from 0.0025 to 0.0030 PIL) rather than changing the token's target value.
What happens to unused client PIL allocations?
At the end of each monthly billing cycle, any PIL allocated to a client’s "Sponsor Account" that was not consumed by transaction fees returns to the Treasury Pool. This prevents token hoarding and ensures the Treasury remains a self-replenishing "revolving fund."
How do validators cover their operational costs in Euros?
Institutional validators can exchange their earned PIL rewards with the Pilier Treasury at the fixed 1:1 rate. This allows them to receive Euros to cover server hosting, DevOps, and administrative expenses.
Does locking tokens into tPIL provide financial returns?
No. Locking PIL into tPIL provides Governance Power, not financial dividends. It is a "Skin in the Game" mechanism: the longer you commit to the network (up to 48 months), the more weight your vote carries in shaping protocol parameters like fees and validator sets.
How do validators cash out?
Validators can:
- Hold PIL and use for operations (unlikely, as they're paid in fees)
- Exchange with pilier.org (sell back to Treasury at 1:1 ratio)
- Use for governance (vote on protocol changes)
Expected: validators exchange monthly earnings for euros to cover operational costs.
Next Steps
For Validators
For Developers
For Integrators
Questions? Join the discussion:
- GitHub: github.com/pilier-org/core
- Telegram: t.me/pilier_org