TIDE Tokenomics
Harbor is built to reward long-term participation, prioritize early growth, and create sustainable value accrual.
Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 TIDE (1 billion tokens), hard-capped in the TIDE token contracts.
Protocol Revenue Flow
Protocol revenue is collateral yield + mint/redeem fees. It is allocated as follows:
Top-level split
- Maiden Voyage Yield Share (per market, if eligible): up to ~5% of that market’s revenue goes to eligible voyage participants. See Maiden Voyage.
- Of the remaining ~95%:
- Above ~$10M TVL? If yes, the treasury takes a cut (about 5%+ of this remainder). Below that threshold, none of this step applies.
- Of what is left after any TVL treasury take:
- 75% → Stability pools (“grow markets” / TVL grows)
- 25% → Buy TIDE (“strengthen TIDE”)
Example: $100 of market revenue → ~$5 Yield Share → ~$95 into the protocol path above → after any TVL take, that amount splits 75/25.
What happens to bought TIDE (the 25%)
- If the Harbor treasury holds less than 30% of total TIDE supply → add to treasury
- Else if protocol-owned liquidity (POL) is below 15% of total TIDE supply → add to POL
- Else → burn TIDE
Both ownership targets use the hard-capped 1B total supply as denominator (not circulating supply).
Landing (“75% grow markets / 25% strengthen TIDE”) and the Tide app (treasury → POL → burn) describe the same flow at different zoom levels (on revenue after Yield Share).
The long-term goal is simple: let the protocol itself become the long-term buyer of TIDE. Lower prices do not increase emissions; they increase how much TIDE protocol revenue can buy back over time.
BAO → Harbor Migration
The former 25% BAO treasury allocation is distributed directly to BAO holders through a migration airdrop (liquid BAO and veBAO).
As part of this process, BAO is effectively retired, with TIDE becoming the primary ecosystem token. This is cleaner than parking a large share of supply in a BAO treasury indefinitely and removes long-term overhang uncertainty.
There is a claim window (timing TBA) for BAO and veBAO holders. Unclaimed tokens after the deadline return to the Harbor Treasury.
Token Allocation
Community & Ecosystem
| Category | Allocation | Details |
|---|---|---|
| BAO migration airdrop | 25% | All liquid BAO and veBAO, former Bao treasury allocation, distributed to holders |
| veBAO holders | 5% | Additional 5% for veBAO only |
| Community sale | 5% | Increased from the prior 1.5% |
| Aladdin DAO | 3% | Strategic partnership allocation |
| Booster rewards | 1% | Liquid at launch |
| Future booster incentives | 2% | Reserved for later booster programs |
| Maiden Voyage participants | 1.5% | 1% launch Maiden Voyage; 0.4% EUR voyages; 0.1% metals |
| Harbor Marks | 1% | Marks from activity other than Maiden Voyage |
Founders
| Category | Allocation | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | 22% | ~2% initially liquid; remaining ~20% locked until TVL + POL KPIs are met (see below)* |
Founder KPI unlocks (~20% of supply)*
* KPI schedule pending: the cliff table below is the working design. Final numbers and vesting-contract wording may still be updated; treat as provisional until confirmed on-chain / in the Tide dashboard.
The KPI-locked founder allocation unlocks against five TVL + POL cliffs. Each cliff that is met unlocks up to 4% of total supply, and unlocks are capped at 4% of total supply per year, even if Harbor is ahead of the KPI schedule. POL is a share of total TIDE supply (1B hard cap).
| Cliff | TVL* | POL* (of total TIDE supply) | Unlock when met |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ≥ $1M | ≥ 1% | 4% |
| 2 | ≥ $5M | ≥ 2.5% | 4% |
| 3 | ≥ $10M | ≥ 4.5% | 4% |
| 4 | ≥ $25M | ≥ 9% | 4% |
| 5 | ≥ $50M | ≥ 15% | 4% |
| Total | 20% |
| Example cumulative | Unlock | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| After cliff 1 | 4% | 4% |
| After cliff 2 | 4% | 8% |
| After cliff 3 | 4% | 12% |
| After cliff 4 | 4% | 16% |
| After cliff 5 | 4% | 20% |
Notes:
- Both metrics required at each cliff (TVL and POL). Cliffs are taken in order (1 → 5).
- Cliffs, not drip: no continuous unlock between cliffs, only when a cliff is newly satisfied.
- Max 4% per year: unlocking cannot exceed 4% of total supply in any year, even if several cliffs are already met early. Full release of the 20% therefore takes at least five years.
- Cliff 1 is intentionally easy ($1M / 1% POL); cliff 5 matches the long-term POL ownership goal ($50M / 15% POL).
- Separately, ~2% of supply is founder liquid at launch (outside this 20% KPI schedule). Total founder allocation remains 22%.
- * Pending confirmation, do not treat cliff TVL/POL figures as final until published with vesting contracts / the Tide dashboard.
Treasury
| Category | Allocation | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Harbor Treasury | 34.5% | Operating reserve for growth, incentives, and long-term stewardship |
Total: 100%.
Launch Circulating Supply
Expected circulating supply at launch is approximately 43.5%.
The remaining ~56.5% is primarily:
- Harbor Treasury reserves
- Founder KPI-locked allocations* (5 cliffs × 4%; max 4%/year; cliff 1 $1M / 1% POL → cliff 5 $50M / 15% POL)
- Future booster reserves
Initial liquidity may be relatively limited, and early price discovery may be volatile; that is expected. Harbor focuses on sustainable ownership and protocol-driven buybacks rather than engineering short-term token price action.
Claim windows
- BAO / veBAO migration and related claims use a yet-to-be-finalized claim window; unclaimed amounts return to Harbor Treasury
- Check the Tide dashboard for live eligibility and claim status
Treasury Governance
All treasury token usage should follow:
- Transparent, pre-announced frameworks
- Multisig approval process
- Long-term transition to governance committee oversight
- Community accountability
Key Tokenomic Features
1. Marks, Maiden Voyage, and Claims
- Harbor Marks (1% allocation) reward non–Maiden Voyage activity
- Maiden Voyage participants have a dedicated 1.5% allocation slice (plus ongoing Yield Share on markets they help launch)
- Migration, airdrop, and claim flows are surfaced in the Tide app
2. Protocol-Owned Liquidity Strategy
Harbor prioritizes permanent liquidity over rented liquidity:
- Target: 15% of total TIDE supply (hard-capped 1B) as protocol-owned liquidity, same denominator as the treasury goal (30% of total supply), not of circulating supply
- Provides stability through market cycles
- Reduces long-term token dilution from mercenary liquidity mining
3. Buyback & Burn Value Accrual
- 25% of (post–Yield Share and post–TVL-take) revenue buys TIDE on the open market
- Bought TIDE first fills treasury (to 30% of total supply), then POL (to 15% of total supply), then burns
- Scales with protocol revenue; the protocol is designed as the long-term buyer of TIDE
4. Team-Directed Incentives
Harbor uses team-controlled emissions rather than gauge voting in the early phase:
- Enables rapid iteration and adjustment
- ROI-focused: every token emitted should drive growth or security
- Future transition to governance committee
5. Treasury Sustainability
- Harbor Treasury holds 34.5% at allocation, with a long-term ownership goal of ≥30% of total TIDE supply via buybacks when needed
- Provides warchest for incentives and growth
- Until buyback ownership targets are met, purchased TIDE is retained rather than burned
6. Founder alignment (TVL + POL)
~20% of supply stays locked until founders hit TVL + POL cliffs. Each cliff unlocks 4% of supply; unlocks are capped at 4%/year, so the full 20% takes at least five years even if KPIs are hit early.
| Cliff | TVL | POL | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1M | 1% | 4% |
| 2 | $5M | 2.5% | 4% |
| 3 | $10M | 4.5% | 4% |
| 4 | $25M | 9% | 4% |
| 5 | $50M | 15% | 4% |
Details and notes: Founder KPI unlocks. *KPI schedule pending: provisional until vesting contracts / Tide dashboard confirm.
Vesting Overview
Expected liquid / circulating at launch (~43.5%)
Primarily community & ecosystem distributions, including:
- BAO migration airdrop (25%)
- Additional veBAO allocation (5%)
- Community sale (5%)
- Aladdin DAO (3%)
- Booster rewards liquid at launch (1%)
- Maiden Voyage participants (1.5%)
- Harbor Marks (1%)
- Plus ~2% initially liquid founder tokens (founder total remains 22%)
Exact circulating mix at TGE depends on claim timing and unlock schedules; use the app for live figures.
Locked / reserved at launch (~56.5%)
- Harbor Treasury (34.5%)
- Founder KPI locks (~20% of supply)*: five TVL + POL cliffs, 4% each, max 4%/year (see Founder KPI unlocks)
- Future booster reserves (2%)
Launch Philosophy
Harbor is designed around:
- Protocol revenue
- TIDE buybacks
- Treasury accumulation
- Long-term sustainability
Lower prices do not increase emissions. They increase how much TIDE the protocol can accumulate from revenue over time.