The Polkadot community has voted to implement a hard cap on the supply of its native token, DOT, a significant move that signals a shift toward scarcity. The decision, made through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) referendum, replaces the network’s previous unlimited issuance model.
On Sunday, Polkadot DAO announced on X that Referendum 1710 passed with an overwhelming 81% approval. This new model will cap the total supply of DOT at 2.1 billion tokens and introduce a two-year inflation schedule that gradually slows down issuance.
The change marks a stark contrast to Polkadot’s prior system, which minted 120 million DOT annually without a supply ceiling. According to the DAO, under the old model, the token supply was projected to reach about 3.4 billion by 2040. The new plan will reduce that number to an estimated 1.91 billion by the same year, making the asset more scarce over time.
This decision was made possible by Polkadot’s OpenGov framework, a community-led governance system launched in 2023 that allows any token holder to submit proposals, vote, and delegate their voting power.
While the long-term implications are widely seen as positive for the network, the price of DOT experienced a short-term dip, falling 2.2% in the past 24 hours to $4.32. Despite the recent decline, the token is still up 9.8% over the past week and holds a market capitalization of $6.6 billion.
