Introduction
$TRUST
$TRUST powers Sage’s economy and is crypto’s first Earned Mint Token (EMT), minted exclusively through verified social actions using Proof of Social Contribution (PoSC). This creates a self-regulating economy, naturally balancing supply and demand to encourage high-quality content, support long-term economic sustainability, and motivate active user participation.
Moving from Phase 1 to Phase 2 naturally creates token scarcity—as the market price of $TRUST rises, fewer tokens are minted per action. This directly links the supply of $TRUST to network growth and market conditions. For further details, see the $TRUST Mechanics section.
$TRUST Minting Phases
Sage Protocol organizes $TRUST minting into two clear phases:1
Phase 1: Fixed Mint Price (Bootstrap Phase)
Initially, since $TRUST tokens are minted solely from user contributions, there won’t be immediate liquidity or a stable market price. To ensure early adopters receive predictable and fair rewards, Sage sets a fixed mint price of $0.000001 USD during this bootstrap phase. Phase 1 rewards are calculated as follows:
$TRUST reward = (Action’s Transaction Fee ÷ Fixed $TRUST Price) × Action Weight
2
Phase 2: Market-driven Mint Price
Once the protocol matures and $TRUST reaches stable liquidity and market pricing, Sage shifts to a dynamic, market-based mint price. Rewards are then calculated based on the current market conditions as follows:
$TRUST reward = (Action’s Transaction Fee ÷ Market $TRUST Price) × Action’s Weight
Current Eligible Actions and Action Weights
Sage tracks user contributions using clearly defined actions and assigned weights. During the beta phase, all actions start with a uniform weight of 1.0. This consistent baseline simplifies analysis and helps accurately measure user engagement. As we gather more data and community input, action weights will be adjusted to better match the effort and value associated with each activity. For example, high-effort actions like creating content will probably remain around a weight of 1.0, while simpler interactions, such as liking content, might be lowered to around 0.5 to reflect their relative effort and impact. Below is the current list of eligible actions and their beta-phase weights:| Category | Action | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Content Creation | User creates content (e.g., text post, image post, video post) | 1.0 |
| Engagement Received | User’s posted content receives a like | 1.0 |
| Engagement Received | User’s posted content receives a bookmark | 1.0 |
| Engagement Received | User’s posted content receives a comment | 1.0 |
| Engagment Given | User likes another user’s post | 1.0 |
| Engagment Given | User bookmarks another user’s post | 1.0 |
| Engagment Given | User comments on another user’s post | 1.0 |
| Engagment Given | User reply’s to a comment | 1.0 |
| Social Graph | User gains a follower | 1.0 |
| Social Graph | User follows another user | 1.0 |
| Social Graph | User establishes a friend | 1.0 |
| Community | User creates a channel | 1.0 |
| Community | User joins a channel | 1.0 |
Future Eligible Actions
Alongside the currently implemented actions, additional actions will be added as Sage evolves. These new actions will help capture nuanced forms of user engagement, making the incentive system even more responsive and comprehensive. Initially, Sage’s core team will define these actions and their weights, but as the protocol moves toward full decentralization, this responsibility will shift to community governance. Ultimately, the community will decide which actions earn rewards and how they’re valued, keeping incentives closely aligned with shared goals. Below are upcoming actions we plan to include after careful testing and validation during the beta phase.| Category | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Community | User’s channel gets a new member | In Testing |
| Social Graph | User invites another user that accepts | In Testing |
| Engagement Received | User’s posted content is shared by another user | In Testing |
| Engagement Given | User shares another user’s post | In Testing |
Sybil Resistance & Anti-Gaming
Rewarding actions based on validated activity and measurable transaction fees naturally discourages spam and manipulation. Beyond this built-in protection, Sage includes additional measures to ensure authentic engagement remains the main pathway to earning $TRUST. Key anti-gaming measures:- Transparent Verifiability: Every eligible action is clearly recorded on-chain, ensuring accountability, traceability, and making manipulation costly.
- Single-Action Rewards: Each unique event (e.g., following another user) earns a reward only once, preventing repetitive or exploitative actions.
- Adaptive Cost Scaling: Transaction fees gradually increase for rapid, repetitive, or low-value actions, making large-scale manipulation financially impractical.