Emission Schedule
An emission schedule is the planned rate at which new tokens are created and released over time, for example as mining rewards, staking rewards or liquidity incentives. It determines how fast supply grows and who receives the new tokens.
Emissions versus vesting
Vesting releases tokens that already exist but are locked. Emissions create or distribute new tokens that pay for something: securing the network, providing liquidity or using a protocol. Both increase the supply that can trade, but emissions usually go to whoever does the rewarded activity, not to a fixed list of insiders.
Emissions are normally written into the protocol's code. Some can only change through a fork, others can be adjusted by a governance vote.
Common emission designs
Bitcoin is the classic fixed schedule. Miners started with 50 BTC per block, and the reward halves every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years. The April 2024 halving cut it to 3.125 BTC, and total supply approaches 21 million.
Ethereum has no fixed cap. Validators receive new ETH as staking rewards, and the amount depends on how much ETH is staked. Since the London upgrade in August 2021, part of every transaction fee is burned, so net supply can rise or fall depending on network activity. Many DeFi tokens use liquidity mining instead: a set number of tokens per day is paid to users, often reduced step by step over time.
An example of emission dilution
Say a protocol has 100,000,000 tokens in circulation and emits 50,000 per day as farming rewards. That is about 18,250,000 tokens in a year, an 18% increase in supply. If you hold 1,000 tokens and do not earn any of the rewards, your share of the network falls by roughly 15% over that year, even though your token count stays the same.
What to check
Find the current annual emission as a percentage of circulating supply, how it changes over time, and whether there is a cap. Check who receives the emissions and whether they are likely to sell: farmers who are paid only for liquidity often sell rewards quickly.
A high reward rate funded mainly by emissions is not the same as income. If the yield comes from new tokens rather than fees paid by real users, it is paid for by dilution, and it can disappear when emissions are cut or the token price falls.
Ask Coach about it
Coach is the AI on AtenaCrypto. It explains crypto with live market data, in plain words.
How can I tell whether a protocol's rewards come from real fees or from token emissions?Ask Coach →
Frequently asked questions
Is an emission schedule the same as inflation?
It is the source of a token's supply inflation. The emission schedule says how many new tokens are created; the inflation rate expresses that as a percentage of existing supply, often net of tokens burned.
Can an emission schedule be changed?
It depends on the protocol. Bitcoin's schedule would need broad consensus for a change, while many DeFi tokens can adjust emissions through a governance vote.
Why do projects pay emissions at all?
To reward work the network needs, such as securing the chain or providing liquidity, and to distribute tokens widely. The cost is dilution for holders who do not receive the rewards.
Related terms
Lessons on this topic
Learn it step by step
AC Learning explains these ideas in interactive lessons — the first eight sections are free.
Open AC Learning → Create a free accountAll glossary terms · Educational reference only — not investment, legal, tax or financial advice.