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SOL Supply After Genesis Unlocks: Issuance, Burns and Staking

Chawapat Peechapat
Chawapat Peechapat
Tokenomist
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 • 13 min read
SOL Supply After Genesis Unlocks: Issuance, Burns and Staking

All of SOL's original allocations tracked by Tokenomist have finished unlocking, but staking rewards still create new SOL. The vote to slow that creation passed, yet as of October 1, 2026 the change had not started. An empty unlock calendar says nothing about how fast new SOL arrives, how much is burned, or when holders sell.

Key Takeaways

  • The unlock calendar is empty, but supply still grows. All nine original allocations are fully unlocked; new SOL now comes only from staking rewards, about 21.5 million SOL over the next year in Tokenomist's forecast, which appears to assume the current rule.
  • The inflation cut has not started. The vote to make the inflation rate fall twice as fast, by 30% of itself each year instead of 15%, passed, but the network still ran the old rule on October 1, 2026.
  • Only half of the base fee is burned. Priority fees go entirely to validators, so paying more to get in first does not burn more SOL.
  • Less issuance means smaller staking rewards. Staking rewards are paid out of newly created SOL, and 69.38% of all SOL is staked, so slower creation pays those stakers less.

What Solana is and how SOL works

Solana is a blockchain for applications and payments. SOL pays transaction fees on that chain, and holders can stake it to help secure the network. The original token allocations were released under vesting schedules. The protocol creates new SOL separately, as staking rewards. Validators and the people who delegate to them receive those rewards, according to how much they participate and what commission they charge. Some transaction fees are burned, which reduces supply. Revenue earned by applications on Solana does not automatically flow back to SOL holders.

New staking issuance enters a central total SOL supply box, while fee burn exits it.
New issuance adds SOL to supply; burning removes it. Conceptual illustration, not measured flows.