Very happy to present to you cICP. A liquid staking token governed by Neutrinite DAO.
cICP is a liquid staking token (compounding stream ICP) designed to align long-term incentives on the Internet Computer (IC). When you mint cICP, 95–98% of the ICP provided as mint_input is staked into an 8-year neuron. The voting rewards from this neuron are disbursed daily into the buyback stream, where ICP is used to purchase cICP via a vector, and the purchased cICP is burned. cICP doesn’t unlock.
This process doesn’t add new ICP to the neuron, but it increases the ICP share of all cICP holders and raises the mint_rate, calculated as:
mint_rate = mint_input / total_ledger_supply
Node Provider Vault (np_vault)
The remaining 2–5% of mint_input, called node_split, is directed to the Node Provider Vault (np_vault). This portion is slowly converted into USDT and stored in np_vault_usdt. The vault’s sole purpose is to be used in exchange for node yield, which is also sent into the buyback stream—further benefiting cICP holders.
The size of node_split is dynamically adjusted to maintain a 1:1 ratio between the cICP neuron’s voting power and the overall node provider share in the network. This helps shield cICP from both inflationary mechanisms on the IC:
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Neuron Rewards Inflation (~14% APR)
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Node Provider Inflation tied to the ICP/XDR conversion rate
These two systems operate differently, and their effects can’t be mitigated by compounding alone. The result is a deflationary mechanism for cICP, at the cost of temporary liquidity reduction.
For example, if the cICP/ICP exchange rate drops by 50% from the mint rate and no one is buying, the buyback stream would begin burning 2 cICP instead of 1—effectively increasing deflation and rewarding long-term holders.
Node Economics Breakdown
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ICP Node Rewards: ~$1,300–$1,500/month
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Costs:
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Datacenter hosting: $100–$250/month
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Operator service fee: ~$100/month (reasonable given self-maintaining IC nodes)
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Hardware cost: ~$17,000–$20,000 per node
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Given this, a node pays for itself in roughly 13 months.
However, because ICP issuance increases when its market price drops, even staked neurons can face dilution. This is where cICP plays a key role: protecting long-term holders by redirecting a portion of the mint input into hardware infrastructure.
Instead of requiring node operators to make hardware investments, reputable operators can simply provide services and receive ~$300/month in NTN tokens. Meanwhile, cICP holders provide the capital for hardware and receive the full node rewards—making cICP a deflationary liquid staking solution.
Current Stats (at time of writing):
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Total voting power on the IC: 427,023,783
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Voting power of cICP neuron: 232,830
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Target: 1 node per 295,691 voting power to maintain the 1:1 ratio
This structure effectively introduces a partial PoS-like dynamic, with a single inflationary mechanism for cICP holders.
Planned (but not yet implemented):
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5% of neuron rewards will be used to buy and burn NTN, supporting cycle costs and protocol maintenance.
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A small % of rewards may also fund vector-based strategies that improve compounding efficiency and incentivize liquidity provision.
Hypothetical Historical Example
Imagine cICP existed 4 years ago:
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ICP price: $50
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Estimated total NNS voting power: 250 million
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Estimated node count: 700
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Target: 1 node per 357,142 voting power
→ Requires ~178,571 ICP or $8.93M to maintain 1:1 ratio -
Hardware cost per node: ~$21,000
→ Only 0.2% of total liquidity would go to node infrastructure
If we compound for 4 years at a conservative 15% APY:
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Neuron staking would yield ~133,792 ICP
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Node rewards (reinvested) would yield ~16,388 ICP
Breakdown:
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Node rewards = 10.91% of total staking rewards
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Output ratio: NNS staking vs. node staking = 8.17 : 1
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Value ratio: capital used = 425.17 : 1
To truly hedge against dilution and inflation, both staking mechanisms must be addressed. cICP does this by capturing node rewards through minimal capital allocation—making it a viable, deflationary staking model for the long term.
cICP tokenomics are on-chain using ICRC55 and governed by Neutrinite DAO
Voting system
Currently, the cICP neuron follows the NTN DAO’s assigned followee — Anvil. Voting power is not a priority until cICP reaches 400,000 ICP, at which point a new voting system will be introduced.
This new system will use proportional representation, allowing holders to delegate their voting power without needing to lock their tokens.
The cICP neuron will be split into smaller neurons of varying sizes. To set a followee, a holder simply sends 0.5 cICP to a special address — from any wallet they choose. Only one transaction is required to establish the connection. No wallet interface changes are necessary. Once the followee is set, all cICP in that wallet will automatically vote according to the chosen neuron.
When a new NNS proposal is submitted, the voting system:
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Takes a snapshot of all cICP holders and their balances,
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Checks which known neurons voted “accept” or “reject,” and
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Casts votes proportionally based on this data.
For example, if someone holds 1% of all cICP and follows a neuron that votes “accept,” that 1%+ will be applied as an “accept” vote from the cICP neuron.
Any cICP not assigned to a followee will be proportionally redistributed to those who have set a followee. This ensures 100% of the cICP neuron votes — no votes are skipped.
Governance & decentralization
Neutrinite DAO governs Neutrinite DEX and the ICRC55 components, making cICP work.
More than 60% of the entities have large 8-year neurons (Probably the DAO with 8y neuron entities holding the most vp), which are economically incentivized for ICP not to lose its value. The developers also have 8y neuron locked in 2021. Around 30% of the vp is held by the Neuron Fund ~14 separate large neurons which will start voting once there is something meaningful to govern. ~20% Dragginz & Neopets founder Adam. (~20% Neutrinomic foundation ~15% founders - both assigned pre-SNS swap) ~15% other community members.
Once the DAO was launched, we airdropped ~5% of NTN’s tokens, but most of them ended back inside DAO-owned DEX pools. We believe the market cap of 1.7m$ hardly justifies what is being built, so we won’t be voting for any NTN release from treasury until its rate is at least two times the launch swap rate. 20% of the circulating supply is unlocked and inside DEXes - NTN liquidity here ICPCoins . While decentralization through airdrops is not possible, everyone who believes NTN should be more decentralized is welcome to join at a discount currently.
Security
Ledger - governed by Neutrinite DAO, using NNS blessed builds from the SNSW canister
Vectors, minter, DEX, neuron canister - governed by Neutrinite DAO
The neuron is locked for 8 years and can’t move out of the canister. The canister requires critical proposal to change owners. Even then, the neuron can be brought back by the NNS if somehow stolen. Only the daily buy-back stream and DEX liquidity are at risk of cyber attacks.
DeFi
Around 18 months ago, a lot of SNSes started launching. Their treasuries in ICP and their coins were traded in pools paired with ICP. If they were paired with cICP instead, which removes the ICP inflation from the equation and adds some extra APY, these coins would currently have a +40% higher rate. Thanks to cICP’s liquidity net and arbitrage systems also regain another +10%, which they’ve lost. That would allow the public to evaluate these projects better, based on their true value and not on the dilution by inflation in pools and reductions from DeFi inefficiencies.
The liquidity net is growing, and the volume coming from it is currently at ~400k$ a day on hundreds of connected pools. It also protects these tokens from all kinds of manipulations.
cICP now has enough voting power and value in the vault to obtain a node. One approach is to wait for several months - or possibly up to a year - to accumulate a few nodes. Another option is for those who already operate to allow cICP to make the investment instead and collect the rewards, while they become service providers for these nodes.
With 122,657 ICP (worth $643,949) already locked for 8 years, and only one node needed to make cICP deflationary and accessible to all, while boosting DeFi performance - we urge the community to consider helping accelerate the transition to IC 2.0 DeFi.
