HiIQ is the staking mechanism for the IQ token, incentivizing long-term engagement and governance participation within the IQ ecosystem. Staking IQ enables holders to actively shape the development of the IQ ecosystem, including its flagship products such as the Agent Tokenization Platform (ATP), IQ.wiki, and IQ.social.

The HiIQ system also enhances utility for stakers by unlocking exclusive access to ecosystem applications and rewards. Stakers earn additional IQ tokens and benefit from a deflationary model, where platform fees in IQ are burned or redistributed to stakers. As of December 2024, IQ holders have locked up a record 1.5 Billion IQ, resulting in a total of over 4.9 Billion HiIQ.

Overview

HiIQ launched on August 4, 2021. The HiIQ staking system allows IQ holders to choose how long they want to lock up their IQ and the number of IQ tokens they would like to stake. The greater the amount of IQ locked and the greater the length of time the tokens are locked the greater the HiIQ balance of the staker. A user's HiIQ balance determines their voting power on governance proposals involving the IQ token and IQ ecosystem. Users also receive IQ token rewards in proportion to their HiIQ balance. Following the first halvening on November 1, 2023, 1.5 million IQ were minted daily for HiIQ stakers.^[1]

HiIQ is a vesting and yield system based on the Curve veCRV mechanism. Users may lock up their IQ for up to 4 years for four times the amount of HiIQ (e.g. 100 IQ locked for 4 years returns 400 HiIQ). HiIQ is not a transferable token nor does it trade on liquid markets. It is more akin to an account-based point system that signifies the vesting duration of the wallet's locked IQ tokens within the protocol. The HiIQ balance linearly decreases as tokens approach their lock expiry, approaching 1 HiIQ per 1 IQ at zero lock time remaining.^[1]

To participate in IQ staking with HiIQ, it is necessary to have IQ on Ethereum (ETH) and have sufficient Ether for gas fees.^[2]

As of December 2024, IQ holders have locked up a record 1.5 Billion IQ, resulting in a total of over 4.9 Billion HiIQ. ^[8]

IQIP-20: Building EOAI (Enshrined On-chain AI) with IQ and Implementing Token Burning

In October 2024, the IQ community voted to implement IQIP-20 with overwhelming support. IQIP-20 proposed building EOAI (Enshrined On-chain AI) and establishing IQ as the native token for this new AI-driven ecosystem. The proposal introduced AI agents directly on the blockchain to simplify complex DeFi tasks, address chain fragmentation, and optimize user experiences in liquidity, lending, and trading. With a new tokenomics model that includes burning IQ for deflationary benefits and reverting to the 2022 emissions schedule, this initiative aimed to accelerate growth while rewarding stakers and contributors. ^[8]

The IQ token will serve as the governance and utility token for the new Agent Tokenization Platform (ATP), which allows users to create tokenized agents that can operate autonomously. Unlike previous models, ATP agents operate independently, owning assets, performing on-chain actions, and continuously enhancing their capabilities through tokenized ecosystems. In the same way that Ethereum users pay transaction fees in ETH to use the network, users of IQ’s AI agents will pay transaction fees in IQ. A portion of each fee will be burned, while the rest will go to IQ stakers. ^[8]

To support the IQ AI vision, BrainDAO proposed reverting to the initial 2022 emissions schedule with halvings every four years, similar to Bitcoin. While this means higher emissions in the short term, the increased adoption of the Agent Tokenization Platform (ATP) will eventually lead to more IQ being burned than minted, leading to the IQ token becoming deflationary over time. To accommodate short-term emission increases, the maximum IQ supply will be raised to 60 billion, significantly below the original 100 billion cap. Even without token burning, the supply would remain under 54 billion by 2100. ^[8]

IQIP-20 amplifies the role of HiIQ in aligning stakeholder incentives with the IQ ecosystem’s growth. The introduction of IQ AI vision with gent Tokenization Platform (ATP), and a deflationary tokenomics model creates new streams of utility and rewards for HiIQ stakers while solidifying their influence in governance and encouraging their long-term participation. ^[8]

Halvening Model

In October 2022, IQIP-14: New IQ Tokenomics for the New IQ.wiki Platform, a proposal for setting up new tokenomics for the IQ token, went through with the majority of votes. The community voted in favor of a halvening model like Bitcoin and FXS which provides higher initial emissions to incentivize early adopters and gradually lowers emissions to ensure long-term sustainability. With this new model, IQ emissions would sustainably decrease over time until they dipped below 1 IQ minted per month in August of 2050 ensuring that the maximum supply cap of 21 billion tokens is never reached. Previously, the IQ token used a constant inflation model which could lead the IQ token to hit its maximum supply cap in January of 2027, and then all IQ emissions would have to stop.^[4]

From November 1, 2022, to November 1, 2023, under the IQIP-14 IQ token emissions model, 3 million IQ were minted each day for HiIQ stakers. This tripled rewards for IQ stakers for the next 12 months starting from October 2022. 350,000 IQ were minted each day to provide rewards for editors and curators who contribute to IQ.wiki. 4,333,333 IQ were minted and used to acquire Ethereum, stablecoins, and other assets for the BrainDAO treasury. As part of these changes, it was also proposed to create a rule where up to 25% of incoming assets to BrainDAO from bonds and the TWAMM can be used by IQ.wiki to grow and develop the IQ ecosystem. 250,000 IQ were minted each day to incentivize liquidity for the IQ token. 1,000,000 IQ were minted each day and are allocated to the upcoming gauges system. 3 million IQ were minted each day and allocated to the IQ.wiki company which is responsible for growing IQ.wiki and the IQ ecosystem as a whole.^[4]

The first halvening took place on November 1, 2023, the same date that the BrainDAO team announced IQ v3. As a result of halvening, 1.5 million IQ were minted each day for HiIQ stakers starting from November 1, 2023. As part of IQ v3, the team also proposed further lowering inflation by reducing the amount of IQ allocated to the TWAMM to obtain stablecoins and blue-chip assets. With the BrainDAO treasury stablecoin holdings increasing along with higher than expected yields through sFRAX they were able to propose this reduction in IQ allocated to the TWAMM. The proposal involved reducing the allocation from 2,166,667 IQ to 2,000,000 IQ post-halvening.^[6][7]

IQ.wiki

As long as the IQ token is integral to IQ.wiki, IQ token holders who stake their tokens with the HiIQ staking system, vote on governance decisions involving both the platform and the IQ token itself.^[6] In February 2024, IQ.wiki was launched in Korean and Chinese after experiencing a growing demand for IQ.wiki to expand beyond just the English language. In addition, IQ.wiki added ranked lists to its functionality where the team covers not only the top cryptocurrencies but also their founders, date founded, and respective blockchains. IQ.wiki’s rankings combine CoinMarketCap’s price data, such as price and marketcap with in-depth wiki articles covering categories from stablecoins to AI. IQ.wiki's interface also features an Events page, providing detailed information about conferences, hackathons, and other crypto and blockchain-focused events around the world.

IQ GPT

IQ GPT is an AI agent for blockchain knowledge developed by the IQ team. IQ GPT focuses on providing real-time and contextually relevant information within the blockchain domain. It caters to various use cases, including learning, development, and trading activities, with the ability to streamline research processes and filter out irrelevant data.

In 2023, IQ GPT integrated contents and data sets from platforms such as IQ.wiki's extensive database, Etherscan, DeFiLlama, Frax Docs, Binance Academy, DeFi Protocol Documentations, The Associated Press News, CoinGecko, Flywheel DeFi, BlockBeats, InvestHK and CoinNess.

In late 2023, the BrainDAO team introduced the IQ GPT Chat, designed to support Telegram and Discord communities involved in cryptocurrency, DeFi, NFTs, and related topics. Upon its initial launch, users were onboarded through a waitlist system. However, those staking IQ tokens (HiIQ holders) with a minimum of 100,000 HiIQ balance were allowed early access and could bypass the waitlist.^[6]

In 2024, IQ GPT introduced a series of innovative features to enhance its functionality and user engagement. In January, it launched web integrations, enabling any webpage to incorporate IQ GPT as an interactive chatbot. By April, it expanded its capabilities with Custom Knowledge Training, allowing projects to fine-tune the AI using their specific documentation and datasets. In May, the platform added the /price feature, letting users check token prices directly within Telegram groups, and broadened accessibility by supporting four languages: English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. June saw the introduction of the Teams feature on IQGPT.com, which facilitated collaborative customization by allowing multiple administrators to manage and tailor IQ GPT settings for their community, ensuring seamless knowledge sharing and alignment with community goals. To boost user engagement, July brought two daily features: Fact of the Day, offering insights about a project sourced from its IQ.wiki page, and Today’s Discovery, delivering fascinating blockchain and crypto facts. By December, IQ GPT had integrated with over 180 crypto communities, reaching more than 2 million users across Telegram and Discord, solidifying its role as a versatile and widely-used AI assistant in the cryptocurrency space.^[3][6]

In 2025, IQ GPT will relaunch as a tokenized agent with its own independent token, introducing tokenomics that allow direct community governance.

IQ.social

IQ.social is an AI-powered social forum for crypto news and insights. IQ.social was launched by BrainDAO in November 2023 and is powered by the IQ token. The platform is a part of the IQ ecosystem, featuring IQ GPT, IQ.wiki, and the upcoming Agent Tokenization Platform (ATP).

The platform is governed by HiIQ stakers who curate and rank all of the articles submitted to IQ.social. IQ.social was announced and launched in November 2023.

IQ stakers can add articles and vote for the content of interest by liking an article. If a pending article receives two or more votes and has a HiIQ score of over 100k, it automatically gets published on the homepage of the platform. The HiIQ score of an article is determined by the total HiIQ balance of the users who favored the article.^[6]