Burning LYTH

Burning permanently removes LYTH tokens from circulation. This guide explains how and why to burn LYTH on Monolythium.

Why Burn?

LYTH burning serves multiple purposes:

1. Validator Registration: Required 100,000 LYTH burn deposit for validators
2. Deflationary Mechanism: Transaction fees are 90% burned
3. Voluntary Burns: Users can burn tokens for any reason

Types of Burns

Automatic Burns (Fees)

90% of all transaction fees are automatically burned:

Transaction Fee → x/burn module → 90% Burn + 10% Block Proposer

You don't need to do anything - this happens automatically with every transaction.

Validator Burn Deposit

Validators must burn exactly 100,000 LYTH when registering:

monod tx validator register \
  --self-delegation=100000000000000000000000alyth \
  --burn-deposit=100000000000000000000000alyth \
  # ... other parameters

This burn is:

• One-time: Only required at registration
• Non-refundable: Cannot be recovered
• Mandatory: Transaction fails without it

See Validator Registration for details.

Voluntary Burns (MsgBurn)

Any user can voluntarily burn LYTH using MsgBurn:

monod tx burn <amount>alyth \
  --from <your-key> \
  --chain-id <chain-id>

Example - burn 1,000 LYTH:

monod tx burn 1000000000000000000000alyth \
  --from mykey \
  --chain-id mono_6940-1

!!! warning "Irreversible" Burned tokens are permanently destroyed. There is no way to recover them.

How Burns Work

!!! note "Protocol-Level Burns" Monolythium uses protocol-level burn transactions (MsgBurn) that actually reduce the total supply. Sending tokens to a "burn address" does NOT reduce total supply — those tokens still exist on-chain, they are just unspendable. Always use MsgBurn for real burns.

Verifying Burns

Track Total Supply

# Current total supply
monod query bank total

# Supply of specific denom
monod query bank total --denom alyth

As burns occur, total supply decreases.

Burn Economics

Supply Impact

Starting supply: 161,200,000 LYTH

Burns reduce this over time:

Current Supply = Initial Supply - Total Burned + Inflation Minted

Deflationary Scenarios

High network activity → More fees → More burns → Potential deflation

If fee burns exceed inflation minting, the supply becomes deflationary.

Scenario	Fee Burns	Inflation	Net Effect
Low usage, 0% inflation	Low	0	Slightly deflationary
High usage, 0% inflation	High	0	Deflationary
Low usage, 8% inflation	Low	41.1M/year	Inflationary
High usage, 8% inflation	High	41.1M/year	Depends on volume

Why Burn Voluntarily?

Some reasons users choose to burn:

• Reduce supply: Benefit remaining holders
• Prove commitment: Demonstrate long-term belief in project
• Remove tokens: Simplify holdings
• Community goals: Participate in burn events

Burn Tracking

Via Explorer

The block explorer tracks:

• Individual burn transactions
• Total cumulative burns
• Burn rate over time

Via RPC

# Query burn module account
monod query auth module-account burn

Best Practices

1. Double-check amounts before burning
2. Start small if testing
3. Verify transaction succeeded
4. Record transaction hash for your records

FAQ

Can I burn from MetaMask?

Yes. While MsgBurn is a Cosmos-native transaction, Monolythium supports EIP-712, allowing Cosmos transactions to be signed via EVM wallets such as MetaMask. This requires dApp-level integration.

Is there a minimum burn amount?

No minimum, but gas fees apply regardless of amount.

Can burned tokens be recovered?

No. Burns are permanent and irreversible by design.

Does burning affect my staking rewards?

Only indirectly. If overall supply decreases while staking rewards stay constant, the relative value may change.

Who receives the 10% of fees that aren't burned?

Validators and their delegators, distributed proportionally by stake.