About the service
Supply, allocations and vesting written into the contract and the whitepaper stay with the project for years, which is why we check them before they go on-chain.
What a tokenomics audit is and when to commission it
A tokenomics audit is a review of the token's economic model: where the supply comes from, who receives tokens and when, what generates demand and what happens to the circulating supply once subsequent tranches unlock. We check the assumptions written in the whitepaper, the allocation spreadsheet and the smart contract, and whether they are consistent with one another. The result is a report with a list of risks and recommendations, not a general assessment of the model.
An audit is worth commissioning at three points. Before issuance, when the model is ready but has not yet gone into the contract, because that is when changes cost the least. Before talks with investors or a launchpad, who ask about the unlock schedule and token concentration. And after issuance, when the project plans changes to the model, for example a new staking programme or burning, and wants to know how they will affect current holders.
If you are only planning a token, start with the article how to design and issue your own token, then come back here. We describe designing tokenomics from scratch below.
What we check in a tokenomics audit
We tailor the audit scope to the project, but the fixed core covers six areas.
- Supply and issuance – total and initial circulating supply, issuance schedule, caps, and whether the contract allows tokens to be minted outside the model.
- Allocations and vesting – split between the team, investors, treasury, community and liquidity; length of cliffs and unlock periods; the moment the largest tranche reaches the market.
- Utility and demand – what the token is genuinely needed for in the product, whether demand grows with usage, and whether the token's function can be bypassed without it.
- Inflation and deflation mechanisms – staking rewards, burning, protocol fees; we check that the balance of issuance and burning is calculated, not assumed.
- Governance – who decides on changes to the model, how votes are counted and whether token concentration gives one group control over the treasury.
- MiCA compliance – token classification (utility, ART, EMT, financial instrument) and whether the tokenomics description in the whitepaper meets the disclosure requirements and matches what the contract actually does.
Every risk in the report has a priority, a description of its impact and a recommended change. We consult regulatory risks with the team that runs our legal and regulatory compliance service.
Designing tokenomics from scratch
For pre-issuance projects we design tokenomics from the ground up. We start from the product and the business model, not from the token: we establish what role the token is to play (access, payment, revenue share, governance vote) and whether it is needed at all. Only then do we build the supply, allocation and vesting model and select the mechanisms meant to sustain demand over time.
Tokenomics design ends with two documents. The first is a model in a spreadsheet: circulating supply month by month, tranche unlocks, issuance and burning scenarios. You can modify it yourself and show it to investors. The second is a tokenomics document ready to be pasted into the whitepaper and pitch deck, consistent with what will later be written into the contract. We handle the technical implementation of the model as part of our token creation service.
If the token is to represent stock or a right to profit, we prepare the project as an STO from the outset, because this changes both the model and the issuer's legal obligations.
Smart contract audit before an ICO
The tokenomics model and the contract code are two separate things that must match. A smart contract audit before an ICO checks whether what the whitepaper promises is what the contract actually does. The scope includes:
- contract consistency with the tokenomics: total supply, issuance caps, vesting schedule, allocation addresses;
- owner privileges: mint, pause, blacklist and fee-change functions – who holds them, whether they can be renounced or transferred to a multisig, and whether their existence is disclosed in the documentation;
- testnet tests and automated tests before deployment to mainnet;
- a report with the list of contract changes that must be made before issuance.
We conduct the internal audit in line with good practice for the given standard (ERC20, BEP20, SPL). For projects that need an independent assessment, we arrange an external audit and prepare the code and documentation to meet its requirements.
Token issuance platform
If, after the audit or tokenomics design, the project proceeds to issuance, it needs tools that put the model into practice. The token issuance platform we build as part of the implementation includes:
- an issuance website with the information required by the whitepaper and the terms and conditions;
- an investor panel with wallet integration and a view of allocated tokens;
- KYC/AML procedures and investor verification in line with the chosen jurisdiction;
- on-chain vesting, i.e. tranche unlocks written into the contract rather than a promise.
We describe the full scope of implementation, from strategy to listing, on the ICO and IDO page. A tokenomics audit is its first stage, but it can also be commissioned separately.
Step-by-step process
- Consultation and gathering materials – whitepaper, allocation spreadsheet, contract code (if it exists), business model and issuance plan.
- Model analysis – review of supply, allocations, utility and mechanisms; simulation of circulating supply over time.
- Legal classification – assessment of what kind of token yours is within the meaning of MiCA and what obligations follow from that.
- Contract review – comparison of the code with the model, verification of privileges and tests (for projects with a finished contract).
- Report and recommendations – discussion of the results at a meeting, list of changes with priorities.
- Implementation of changes – optionally, corrections to the model, contract and whitepaper, and preparation for issuance.
At the end you receive: an audit report with a list of risks and recommendations, a tokenomics model in a spreadsheet, a tokenomics document for the whitepaper and a list of contract changes.
How long it takes
Auditing a finished model takes less time than designing from scratch, because we work on existing materials. The timeline depends primarily on whether the project has a complete whitepaper and allocation spreadsheet, whether the contract is already written and whether the audit also covers the code, how many mechanisms (staking, burning, governance) need to be simulated, and how quickly the team answers questions. Designing from scratch adds model iterations with the founders and investors. These usually extend the work more than the analysis itself. We set the schedule at the first consultation and update it once the materials are gathered.
What the price depends on
We prepare a quote individually after the consultation. It is affected by: the scope (tokenomics audit alone, audit with contract review, or design from scratch), the complexity of the model and the number of mechanisms, the need for legal classification and a MiCA opinion, the number of iterations, and whether we implement changes to the contract and documents after the audit. An external code audit, if the project needs one, is quoted separately. We discuss the cost components of a full issuance in the article how much it costs to create your own token.
Legal risks and MiCA
The most serious risk in tokenomics is not economic but legal: misclassification of the token. MiCA distinguishes utility tokens, asset-referenced tokens (ART) and e-money tokens (EMT), while tokens with the characteristics of a financial instrument are excluded from its scope and referred to capital market regulation. If the tokenomics model gives holders a right to profit or a share in the company, the token may be deemed a financial instrument regardless of what it is called in the whitepaper. We explain how to tell the difference in the article MiCA and tokens that are financial instruments.
Obligations follow from the classification: preparing and notifying a whitepaper with the required scope of information, marketing communications consistent with the whitepaper, and the issuer's liability for the information it contains. In the audit we check whether the description of the tokenomics, mechanisms and risks in the whitepaper matches what the contract does, because a discrepancy is both a legal and a reputational problem. The answer to the question of whether creating tokens is legal depends precisely on this classification and on how the token is offered.
Who it is for
- Web3 and DeFi startups before their first issuance that have an idea for a token but no model yet;
- projects with a finished whitepaper that want an independent review before an ICO, IDO or launchpad talks;
- games and applications with a token in the product that plan to change mechanisms after issuance;
- companies considering tokenisation of PSA or S.A. stock or assets that want to know whether their model is a utility token or a financial instrument;
- funds and investors who need an independent assessment of a project's tokenomics before making a decision.
After the audit, the project usually moves on to communicating with the market. Token marketing ensures the message is consistent with the whitepaper.
Free consultation
Book a free consultation: we will discuss your model and tell you what audit scope makes sense. If you would rather assess the project yourself first, check whether your project is ready with our tokenisation diagnostic.
