On Jan. 24, the dYdX Foundation, the entity responsible for the dYdX decentralized crypto exchange, announced “changes” to its tokenomics — the way it distributes tokens to early investors, employees and contractors, and, of course, the public.
So, what’s uncommon about the situation? The project’s foundation, in agreement with dYdX Trading Inc. and its early investors, decided to amend the project's tokenomics and extend the period for which such investors’ initial batch of tokens would be locked, changing the date from Feb. 1 to Dec. 1, 2023. Whether this was a good or a bad thing depended on which side of the trade one was on. On the one hand, investors agreeing to hold their tokens for a longer period suggests a vote of confidence on their part in the project’s long-term success. On the other hand, anyone taking a short position in dYdX in anticipation of the increased supply might have been disappointed, as the token’s price rocketed following news of the amendment.