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Incentives to Hold

🔹 Why hold UTIL instead of buying only when needed?​

Holding UTIL aligns contributors with Matou’s long‑term work. It can unlock access and benefits that one‑off buyers do not get. The goal is to reward committed use without creating unfair passive gains.

🔹 Why incentivize holding UTIL​

  • Stable demand: reduces boom‑and‑bust cycles and supports predictable planning
  • Better service quality: staked users are more consistent, which improves reliability
  • Stronger alignment: contributors succeed as the network grows in value and usage
  • Lower churn: fewer short‑term flips and lower admin overhead
  • Long‑term mindset: encourages higher‑quality contributions and thoughtful governance
  • Easier integrations: attestations let partners recognize verified stakers without custody

🔹 Holding and staking benefits​

  • Tiered access for stakers
    • Higher API limits, advanced modules, or priority queues by stake tier
    • Example tiers: Community, Pro, Steward (clear thresholds and benefits)
  • Spend‑from‑stake bonuses (redemption multipliers)
    • Bonus credits or discounts when paying from staked balances
    • Example: 2%–10% extra credits by duration and tier
  • Early access and allowlists
    • Priority access to new features, pilots, and research programs
  • Governance signal boosts (small, capped)
  • Partner perks
    • Partner discounts or services for verified stakers via attestations

🔹 Cash‑flow and price‑risk controls​

  • Reward time held
    • Weight rewards by duration, not only amount, to reduce short‑term swings
    • Use non‑transferable points or expiring credits to avoid secondary‑market distortion
  • Utility‑first rewards
    • Prefer service credits, fee rebates, and usage boosts over token payouts
    • Keep any on‑chain token rewards small, capped, and proposal‑governed
  • Guardrails
    • Cooling‑off periods for unstaking before benefits end
    • Anti‑sybil checks and caps to prevent concentration

🔹 Example program designs​

  • Staking → service credits
    • Stake UTIL and accrue monthly credits for defined modules; unused credits expire quarterly
  • Spend‑from‑stake bonuses
    • Spend 100 UTIL at Pro (5%) → 5 UTIL bonus → 105 UTIL credits total
    • Spend 220 UTIL at Steward (10%) → 22 UTIL bonus → 242 UTIL credits total
    • After hitting the monthly bonus cap, apply 0% until next month

🔹 Policy considerations​

  • Simplicity and clarity
    • Publish clear tiers, thresholds, and benefit tables; avoid hidden complexity
  • Budget discipline
    • Treasury sets yearly caps and reviews usage and impact each quarter
  • Alignment and fairness
    • Favor benefits that help active contributors over passive holding
  • Composability
    • Use attestations and roles so partners can verify stakers without custody

🔹 Implementation notes​

  • On‑chain
    • Staking with time‑weighted balances and unbonding periods
    • Attestation service issues non‑transferable proofs of stake status
  • Off‑chain
    • Rate limiter and feature gates read attestations to grant benefits
    • Billing applies credits/rebates at invoice or at payment time

🔹 Recommendations​

  • Start small: launch 2–3 clear benefits (credits, small fee rebate, priority lane)
  • Review quarterly: adjust based on measured usage and contributor feedback
  • Avoid heavy emissions: prefer utility rewards and caps to stay sustainable

🔹 Glossary​

  • UTIL: The network’s utility token used for services, credits, and payments
  • Staking: Locking UTIL to unlock benefits; may include an unbonding period
  • Attestation: A verifiable, non‑transferable proof (e.g., of stake level) used by apps
  • Unbonding period: The delay before unstaked UTIL becomes liquid again
  • Redemption multiplier: A bonus applied when paying from a staked balance
  • Governance signal boost: A small, capped multiplier on governance signaling power
  • Non‑transferable points: Reward points that cannot be traded or sold
  • Anti‑sybil: Controls to prevent one person from acting as many accounts
  • Cooling‑off period: Time before benefits end after unstaking
  • Service credits: Credits redeemable for Matou services or modules
  • Rate limiter / feature gate: Systems that set usage limits or unlock features