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? $GNS Tokenomics

$GNS is the governance and utility token of Gains Network. It powers the GDAO vault, where GNS stakers earn 50% of all gTrade trading fees paid in DAI, plus GNS emission rewards. The token also governs fee discounts via Diamond NFTs, market creation collateral requirements, and protocol upgrades voted on by GNS holders. Understanding the fee flows and emission mechanics is essential before deciding whether to stake.

? Token Utility Diagram

$GNS has four distinct utility layers. Hover over each layer to see how the token flows through the ecosystem.

GDAO Staking: Stake GNS -> earn 50% of fees in DAI + GNS emissions. APR historically 20-80%.

Fee Flow - How $1 of Trading Fees Is Distributed

Every dollar of trading fees (pair fees + overnight funding) on gTrade flows to the GDAO vault. The vault then distributes 50 cents to GNS stakers in DAI, while the other 50 cents covers protocol operations, development, and market growth.

To GNS Stakers
$0.50
To Protocol Treasury
$0.50
GNS Emission Value
~$0.15
NFT Discount Value
up to $0.25

GDAO Vault APR Simulator

Estimate your staking APR based on trading volume and GNS price. Adjust the inputs to see how the DAI fee component and GNS emission component combine.

Daily DAI Earned
$2.50
Annual DAI Yield
$912.50
GNS Emissions (Annual)
~$365
Total Staking APR
91.3%
Your Share of Vault
0.5%
Break-even GNS Price
$3.65

Emission Schedule & Token Supply

GNS emissions follow a declining schedule designed to incentivize early stakers. As the protocol matures and trading volume grows, the DAI fees become a larger portion of total yield.

Diamond NFT - Fee Discount Tiers

Diamond NFTs are one-time purchases that burn GNS and provide trading fee discounts. Higher discounts justify burning more GNS - useful for high-volume traders.

Bronze NFT Cost
100 GNS
Silver NFT Cost
250 GNS
Gold NFT Cost
500 GNS
Diamond NFT Cost
1000 GNS
Max Discount
50% off fees
Break-even Volume
>$500k/yr

Key Staking Metrics

Metric Value Notes
Fee split to stakers 50% Of all pair fees + overnight funding in DAI
Staking APR (recent) 20-80% Varies with volume, vault size, and GNS price
Emissions schedule Declining Set by GDAO governance, tapers over time
NFT fee discount Up to 50% Diamond NFT (1000 GNS burned); one-time purchase
Market creation bond 500+ GNS GNS locked to create a new trading pair
Governance voting On-chain Weighted by stake size; covers fees, levers, markets
Socialized loss exposure Pro-rata Vault insolvency -> losses distributed to stakers
Minimum stake None Any GNS amount can stake; no lockup period

Risks of Staking $GNS

GNS Price Risk

GNS can drop even if DAI fees are stable. Stakers may earn DAI but lose on GNS mark-to-market.

Vault Insolvency Risk

If socialized losses exceed vault balance, stakers bear losses pro-rata. Rare but possible in black swan events.

Governance Risk

GDAO votes can change fee splits, emission schedules, or vault parameters. Voting turnout is often low.

How GNS tokenomics work in 90 seconds

$GNS is the utility and governance token of Gains Network. Unlike simple staking tokens that reward holders with emission inflation, GNS staking routes real protocol revenue - 50% of all gTrade trading fees in DAI - directly to GDAO vault stakers. The other 50% flows to the protocol treasury for development and market growth. Beyond staking, GNS has three additional utility layers: governance voting on fee structures and market listings, fee discount Diamond NFTs that burn GNS for up to 50% trading fee reductions, and market creation collateral that locks GNS when launching new pairs.

The GDAO vault is the heart of the system. When you stake GNS, you receive a pro-rata share of the vault's three revenue streams. The first is DAI trading fees - real yield in stablecoin form that does not depend on GNS price to have value. The second is GNS token emissions minted on a declining schedule, which incentivize early stakers and align long-term holders with protocol growth. The third is any remaining vault balance after socialized losses are distributed - a buffer that absorbs counterparty losses from liquidated positions before they reach stakers. Historically, total APR has ranged from 20-80% depending on trading volume and GNS price.

The Diamond NFT tier is a one-time GNS burn that grants up to 50% fee discounts on all gTrade positions. For high-volume traders, the fee savings can exceed the GNS cost of the NFT, creating a clear breakeven calculation. The NFT purchase is deflationary and creates a recurring buy pressure on GNS as new traders enter the ecosystem and want to reduce their trading costs. Market creation requires locking GNS as collateral, which ties token value to the growth of new trading pairs - every new market listed increases the demand for GNS.

Key concepts

GDAO vault
The central accounting contract for Gains Network. All trading fees from gTrade (pair fees and overnight funding) are collected in the GDAO vault before distribution. Stakers receive a pro-rata share of 50% of fees in DAI, plus GNS emissions. The vault also absorbs socialized losses from liquidated positions below the bankruptcy price, which means stakers bear the counterparty risk of the entire trading book.
Pair fee
The structured fee gTrade charges on every trade, replacing both GMX's open/close and borrow fee with a single scaling fee. The pair fee scales with trade size and the current open interest imbalance - larger trades and trades in directions with less opposing liquidity pay higher fees. This is the primary source of revenue for the GDAO vault.
Diamond NFT
A tiered NFT system where burning GNS grants fee discounts on all gTrade positions. The Diamond NFT has multiple tiers at different GNS burn levels (5, 10, 20+ GNS), each granting progressively higher fee discounts up to 50%. For high-volume traders the fee savings can exceed the NFT cost within months, making the NFT a positive carry position on top of regular GNS staking.
Partial collateral model
Unlike GMX where traders must post full position value as collateral, gTrade only requires margin - a fraction of the notional position value. This is what enables 1000 leverage: a $100,000 long position on gold requires only $100 in margin at 1000. The tradeoff is that liquidation is more frequent and the GDAO vault bears more counterparty risk since positions can be larger relative to collateral.
Socialized losses
When a position is liquidated below its bankruptcy price (meaning the collateral does not cover the vault's payout to the trader), the GDAO vault absorbs the shortfall. If the vault balance goes negative, the loss is distributed pro-rata across all GNS stakers - reducing the value of their staked position. This is the primary risk GNS stakers accept in exchange for the DAI fee revenue.
GNS emission schedule
GNS emissions follow a declining curve set by GDAO governance. Early epochs distribute a larger share of fees as newly minted GNS, which TAPERs over time as trading volume grows and DAI fee revenue becomes the dominant APR component. The transition from emission-driven to fee-driven APR is the key maturation arc for the protocol's tokenomics.

Why GNS tokenomics matter

Gains Network's GNS tokenomics are among the most distinctive in DeFi because the vault actually generates real yield in a real asset (DAI) rather than purely redistributing emission inflation. The 50/50 split between DAI fees and GNS emissions means that stakers earn genuine revenue share regardless of token price - the DAI component is valuable even if GNS drops. This contrasts with purely inflationary staking models where the APR is entirely dependent on the token's market price.

The Diamond NFT creates a second-order demand for GNS beyond staking: high-volume traders buy and burn GNS to reduce their trading costs, which permanently removes supply from circulation. The market creation collateral requirement ties GNS demand to the growth of new trading pairs, meaning that as gTrade lists more forex, commodity, and crypto markets, the locked GNS supply increases. The combined effect is a token with multiple reinforcing demand mechanisms layered on top of a real-fee yield stream - one of the more sophisticated token designs in the perp DEX space.

Frequently asked questions

What is $GNS and what is it used for?
$GNS is the governance and utility token of Gains Network. It has four primary use cases: (1) Staking - GNS holders stake into the GDAO vault to earn 50% of protocol trading fees in DAI, plus GNS emission rewards. (2) Governance - GNS token holders vote on protocol parameters, fee schedules, new market listings, and leverage adjustments. (3) Fee discounts - Holding a GNS Diamond NFT (purchased by burning GNS) reduces trading fees by up to 50%. (4) Market creation - Creating new trading pairs on gTrade requires locking GNS as collateral.
How does the GDAO staking vault work?
The GDAO vault is the central accounting layer of Gains Network. When you stake GNS, you deposit it into the GDAO contract and receive a pro-rata share of three revenue streams: (1) 50% of all trading fees distributed in DAI (not GNS). (2) GNS token emissions minted at a schedule that declines over time. (3) Any remaining vault balance after socialized losses are distributed. APR has historically ranged from 20-80% depending on trading volume and GNS price. Stakers bear the risk of socialized losses if the vault goes negative.
What is the $GNS emission schedule?
GNS emissions follow a declining schedule - a larger share of fees are paid in newly minted GNS during early epochs, which tapers over time as trading volume grows. The exact emission curve is set by GDAO governance. Emissions incentivize early stakers and align long-term holders with protocol growth. As trading volume increases, the DAI fee revenue becomes a larger portion of total APR, making the emissions more valuable as they represent a larger slice of a growing pie.
What are the fee discount NFTs?
GNS Diamond NFTs are one-time purchases that burn a significant amount of GNS. Holders of the Diamond NFT receive trading fee discounts of up to 50% on all gTrade positions. The NFT is an additional utility layer on top of the base staking APR - it reduces the cost of trading, which is particularly valuable for high-volume traders. The NFT purchase is deflationary for GNS supply since it permanently removes tokens from circulation.
How is protocol fee distribution structured?
All trading fees on gTrade flow to the GDAO vault, then get distributed: 50% to GNS stakers in DAI (real yield), 50% to the protocol treasury for operating costs, development, and market development. The fee split means GNS stakers earn DAI directly rather than additional GNS, which makes the APR more stable even if GNS price is volatile. GDAO governance can adjust the split within defined bounds.
What is the trading fee APR for GNS stakers?
Trading fee APR is calculated as: (50% of 30-day trading fees in DAI) / (GDAO vault size in DAI terms). Because GNS is also accruing value from emissions, the total APR for stakers is higher than the fee-only APR. Historically, total APR has ranged from 20-80% depending on trading volume, vault size, and GNS price. DAI fee revenue is the more stable component; GNS emissions are more volatile based on token price.
What is the relationship between GNS price and vault health?
GNS stakers face two related risks: price risk from holding GNS (it can drop even if DAI fees are steady) and solvency risk from the vault (if socialized losses exceed the vault balance, stakers bear the loss pro-rata). A healthy vault means GDAO is well-capitalized and socialized losses are unlikely. When the vault is thin or negative, stakers face genuine insolvency risk. Monitoring vault utilization (open interest relative to vault size) is a key metric for stakers.