Aptos cuts staking rewards, changes leadership and reorganizes the team. Is it overdoing it?

원본 | Odaily Planet Daily ( @오데일리차이나 )

Author | Dingdang ( @XiaMiPP )

On April 17, the Aptos community launched a new proposal ( AIP-119 ), suggesting that the staking reward be gradually reduced from the current 7% to 3.79% over the next three months, with a monthly reduction of 1%. This proposal was jointly proposed by Sherry Xiao, head of infrastructure at Aptos Labs, and developer Moon Shiesty, and aims to promote a more sustainable and dynamic ecosystem by adjusting token economics.

The core goal of the proposal: improve capital efficiency and activate ecological vitality

The main goal of AIP-119 is to optimize the currency inflation rate of Aptos by lowering the staking rewards, encouraging capital to shift from passive staking to more dynamic on-chain applications such as DeFi protocols, re-staking, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and MEV (maximum extractable value).

The current 7% staking income is regarded as the risk-free rate in the DeFi field. Excessive incentives may cause users to lock their funds in staking, inhibiting the diversity and activity of the ecosystem. By reducing the staking reward to 3.79%, Aptos hopes to incentivize users to explore higher-yield on-chain opportunities, thereby increasing the activity of the ecosystem and reducing the inflation pressure of APT tokens.

The proposal sees this adjustment as the initial stage of a broader restructuring of token economics, with a six-month evaluation period to assess results and refine future strategies .

Impact Analysis: Opportunities and Risks

The proposed reduction in staking rewards is expected to have multiple impacts on the Aptos ecosystem.

For validators, this change may have a significant impact on their profit model, especially for smaller operators. The proposal includes a sensitivity analysis based on a 5% commission rate, which shows that if the APT price remains in the $5-10 range, validators with less than 3 million APT staked may face losses. According to data, there are currently 53 validators holding a total of approximately 78.4 million APT, accounting for 9% of the total staked supply. Considering the estimated annual validator cost of $35,000 (although some operating costs may be compressed to around $15,000 based on the hardware specifications provided by platforms such as latitude.sh), small validators are at risk of being eliminated by the market under cost pressure. This potential elimination effect, if not effectively intervened, may further lead to the concentration of staking resources, thereby weakening the decentralized nature of the network. To this end, the proposal also proposes supporting measures – plans to establish a community validator support project to support small and medium-sized validators and maintain the diversity and resilience of the network by providing grants and delegated staking.

For APT holders, the decline in staking rewards also means that the willingness to hold for the long term may be affected to a certain extent. After all, staking has always been regarded as a relatively low-risk, stable return way of capital allocation. The proposer believes that this negative effect will be balanced with the reduction of inflationary pressure and the emergence of new reward opportunities in the ecosystem. It is expected that in the next six months, a series of new DeFi projects will be launched in the Aptos ecosystem, aiming to find more attractive on-chain destinations for funds.

Community Voices

The Aptos community鈥檚 response to AIP-119 is diverse.

Jason Chen ( @jason_chen 998 ) pointed out in his analysis that the proposal is a strategy promoted by the Aptos official community, which aims to stabilize the price of coins by reducing inflation, while encouraging large investors to invest funds in DeFi and activate the ecosystem. He believes that combined with the appointment of new CEO Avery Ching and the emphasis on the Asian market, Aptos is trying to emulate the wealth-making effect of Sui and Solana and revitalize the ecosystem through a more down-to-earth approach.

Roger Bojack ( @roger9949 ) called it an awesome proposal, pointing out that the foundation, as the largest staker, took the initiative to reduce the reward, showing its determination to castrate oneself before practicing this skill. He believes that this move is forcing the foundation to build an ecosystem and will promote a positive cycle of the coin price. On April 24, he further stated that reducing the staking income and supporting the community is a difficult but correct decision for the vested interests.

Anymose ( @anymose 96 ) posted that AIP-119 has caused controversy, and overseas big players are anxious because their staking income has been cut. He believes that the proposal is good for the ecosystem in the long run, but in the short term it may offend big players who rely on high returns, leading to selling pressure.

PANews ( @PANewsCN ) analyzed that its goal is to curb inflation and stimulate capital circulation, but pointed out that the real breakthrough lies in open source (creating new value) rather than just saving money (reducing rewards). They are worried that without the support of strong ecological projects, the proposal may backfire.

언급할 가치가 있는 것은 다음과 같습니다. the Aptos Foundation has pledged to invest US$200 million in special funds to fund various ecosystem construction projects to attract a wider range of users and developer groups.

From a more macro perspective, this proposal intends to 가이드 funds from being released from purely passive staking to more active on-chain participation, thereby stimulating a new round of vitality in the Aptos ecosystem. However, it must be recognized that there are certain risks in the short term: the reduction in staking returns may prompt large funds accustomed to high returns to sell pressure, triggering market fluctuations. Therefore, the success or failure of this transformation will largely depend on whether Aptos can launch attractive DeFi products and on-chain applications in a short enough time to smoothly absorb the re-released capital and continue to maintain the user stickiness and activity of the ecosystem.

결론

Under the background of continuous pressure from the external environment, Aptos is at a critical moment in urgent need of a breakthrough. Sui, which is also from the Move system, has recently achieved success in terms of currency price trends, ecological expansion, and exchange resource allocation, which has formed a certain contrast. At the same time, Aptoss ecological construction is slow, the token performance is sluggish, and the doubts within the community about the project direction and execution are gradually increasing.

In such a predicament, Aptos also began to show its intention to reform itself. In early 2025, the project team made important personnel adjustments, and Avery Ching, a Chinese founding member, was officially appointed as the new CEO. As one of the founders of the Aptos architecture, Avery Chings promotion was widely interpreted as Aptos realizing that there were structural problems in the management system and trying to reorganize the strategic direction and execution rhythm by changing the coach. Faced with the multiple pressures of ecological weakness, user loss and intensified market competition, whether Aptos can take this opportunity to complete self-repair and regain the trust of the community will become the core observation point for the next period of time.

This article is sourced from the internet: Aptos cuts staking rewards, changes leadership and reorganizes the team. Is it overdoing it?

Related: Movement (MOVE) Bounces Back: From All-Time Low to 시장’s Top Performer

Last week’s broader market downturn sent many altcoins tumbling, and Movement’s native token MOVE was no exception. On Tuesday, the token plunged to an all-time low (ATL) as selling pressure intensified.  However, market participants saw this decline as a buying opportunity, leading to a surge in demand and pushing its value up. Over the past 24 hours, MOVE has rebounded sharply, climbing 25%, making it the market’s top gainer for the day. MOVE Outshines Crypto Majors with 25% Surge MOVE is up 25% in the past 24 hours, making it the market’s top performer. The token has outpaced leading assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have risen by just 6% each over the same period. Readings from the MOVE/USD one-day chart hint at the likelihood of an extended rally as…