In the world of QuickSwap, deflation and tokenomics have been the talk of the town, with burns, buybacks, sustainability, and so much more heating up conversation and healthy debate across the dragon community. With a decisive approval from the QuickSwap DAO, QUICK has finally arrived at balanced, intelligent, and powerful tokenomics that will drive the dragon DEX forward into the future with both direction and stamina.
It’s time to highlight the 6th pillar in the DragonFi 2.0 journey: the evolution of the QUICK token and journey to its recent tokenomics refresh.
QUICK Tokenomics: The Full Story
From day 1, QuickSwap has placed its vibrant community at the forefront of every decision. That’s why QUICK’s tokenomic changes were first presented in a DAO governance proposal.
in October 2024, which kickstarted the QUICK “Trial of Fire” – an initial 3-month trial period where 100% of protocol revenue was used to buy back and burn QUICK. The community's enthusiasm only grew from there, leading to a second successful DAO vote.
in January 2025 that extended QUICK token burns for an additional 3 months. But even that wasn't the end, as April 2025 witnessed the dramatic "Trial of Fire" extension DAO vote, pushing QUICK’s burning mechanism forward for yet another quarter year into the summer of 2025.
These consecutive community-driven decisions transformed QuickSwap and the QUICK token into something truly revolutionary in the DeFi landscape – the world's first and only deflationary DEX (decentralised exchange). Now, time to unpack what it all means and why it matters.
By the Numbers: Breaking Down the QUICK Buyback and Burn
Over the 9-month duration of the “Trial of Fire”, QuickSwap’s buyback-and-burn campaign burned more than 50,000,000 QUICK – over $1.2 million of QUICK in total (based on token prices during that time). During several extended periods, more than $10,000 worth of QUICK was burned daily. In fact, the burns were so effective that they outpaced total token emissions during the same period, creating a genuinely deflationary environment for QUICK. As is often the case, while most DEXs continued to aggressively emit tokens and expand their total supplies, QuickSwap boldly charted a different course.
QUICK’s deflationary status stands out as a Web3 first, contributing significantly to the protocol's long-term operational sustainability. For the dragon army, that has meant participating in an ecosystem where value accrual mechanisms are built directly into the tokenomic design, rather than relying solely on market speculation or temporary yield incentives. QuickSwap is proud to stand alone in achieving genuine deflation not only as a leading DEX on Polygon, but as a pioneer in sustainable tokenomic design across the entire DeFi landscape. Now, it’s time for the next leap forward.
Sustainable Tokenomics for a Long-Term Vision
On July 1, 2025, the QuickSwap DAO officially put into place a sweeping update to QUICK’s tokenomics, marking a major milestone in the protocol’s evolution. The decision involves implementing modifications to tokenomic structure and incentives with long-term sustainability, product innovation, and deeper liquidity across multiple chains. The new model introduces foundational shifts in emissions, revenue use, and protocol funding – all designed to make QuickSwap more agile and durable.
At the heart of the update is a modest but strategic reallocation: 3% of the total QUICK supply will now be held by the Foundation. These funds are earmarked exclusively for protocol growth, including onboarding Protofire, a top-tier development team, and rebuilding the user experience from the ground up. This isn't a retreat from decentralisation, but rather an investment in operational capacity. Co-Founder Roc Zacharias will continue to volunteer without compensation, and Sameep Singhania will transition to an advisory role – again, without receiving tokens. Fundamentally, every QUICK token allocated to the Foundation must be employed to serve the project – not individuals.
Protofire’s involvement is already driving momentum. The team will lead a full redesign of QuickSwap’s UI/UX, introducing better performance, more advanced features, and cleaner navigation. The goal is to deliver a DEX that competes at the highest level, both technically and visually. This work is critical not just for user retention, but also for onboarding new communities as QuickSwap expands to additional chains like Base. A great product experience is central to that vision, and this tokenomics shift ensures the resources are finally in place to make it happen.
The most transformative element, however, is the overhaul of QUICK’s emissions and revenue model. Previously, emissions introduced new tokens into circulation each day, only to burn even more in an effort to maintain net deflation. This created an unnecessary cycle that strained the treasury and imposed a finite lifespan on yield farming. Under the new framework, QuickSwap will halt emissions entirely. Instead, it will redirect protocol revenue to fund farming rewards directly, and any additional revenue will be burned – creating a deflationary effect without new token issuance.
For the first four months, revenue will be split to support this transition, with 60% allocated to farming rewards, ensuring uninterrupted yield generation. 5% will be burned, 10% will be allocated to treasury-owned liquidity (TOL), and 25% will fund development. After this period, the model becomes even more sustainable: 50% of revenue will go to farming, 40% to burns, and 10% to TOL. Developer funding will end, and emissions will remain untouched.
TOL gives QuickSwap added flexibility and strength. With the treasury owning and deploying LP tokens – especially in the ETH/QUICK pair – the protocol can strategically support liquidity where it's needed most, including new chain deployments. These assets can also earn yield, which can then be compounded to build the treasury further. Sustainability is about creating a self-reinforcing system where protocol value grows over time without extracting value from holders via token inflation.
In effect, the proposal ushers in a smarter, leaner, and more sustainable QuickSwap. Farming can now continue indefinitely, backed by real revenue instead of borrowed time. Token burns are cleaner and more meaningful. Treasury growth is now a core objective, not an afterthought. And perhaps most importantly, the community remains at the center of it all.
Pillar 6: A Critical Stepping Stone
This pillar marks the next chapter of QuickSwap: one defined by resilience, precision, and long-term alignment with the values that launched the protocol in the first place.
The DragonFi 2.0 journey is almost complete. With the new QUICK tokenomics now defined and in full effect, the future of QuickSwap looks even brighter.
Time for one final pillar, coming soon.