STORJ Token Balances and Flows Report: Q3 2022

The STORJ token is an integral part of our decentralized cloud storage network. STORJ tokens are a quick and easy way to transfer value between those who provide storage capacity and bandwidth to the network, and those who use the network to store and retrieve data. Our quarterly token reports provide details on the balances and flows of STORJ tokens in the preceding quarter. We deliver a summary of these reports, along with updates on the business and network, in our quarterly town hall meetings that are all recorded and available online.

Our first token report was published in December 2018, and we have published quarterly reports ever since, all of which are available on our blog. We are pleased now to publish this quarterly STORJ token report for Q3 2022. As we previewed in our last token report, we are moving into operational reserves the tranche of tokens that unlocked at the end of Q3 2022.

The information in this report can be recreated directly from the Ethereum blockchain, but we compile it here for the convenience of our community. We present the token flows in these blog posts to provide a clear and transparent resource to all. Just as we make our code and other materials publicly available, we make our token balances and flows open and accessible.

Long-Term Lock-Ups

As with all of our quarterly token reports, we are providing an update not just on token flows but also on the tokens we hold in long-term lock ups. As we described on our blog in December 2017, after our token sale in 2017, we had 245M STORJ tokens that we had placed in a six-month lockup. We initially divided the tokens into eight tranches of 30.625M tokens each and gave them lock expiration dates spaced one quarter apart over eight successive quarters, setting a cryptographically enforced maximum on the number of tokens that Storj could unlock and use from the tranches in any given quarter over the subsequent two years. As described in more detail below, we left a tranche (Tranche G) unlocked in 2020 and began relocking the tranches for seven quarters out. The purpose of the locking of tokens is to reduce the percentage of tokens under the effective control of any single organization, limit the ability of Storj to impact the circulating supply, and provide transparency and predictability to the ecosystem.

As previously reported, we have committed to giving sixty-days advance notice to announce if there will be any changes to our lock-up schedule. With the publication of the last token report, we announced plans to not relock the tranche that unlocked at the end of this quarter to provide additional resources as we continue to grow. Earlier this year, we announced the acquisition of CrowdStorage. Recently, we hired Mark Glasgow, Chief Revenue Officer. We recently have added to our sales team. As noted below, we also are in the process of repurchasing some company shares. Leaving the tranche unlocked at the end of Q3 was done to enable us to continue fueling our growth.

Prior instances of leaving a tranche unlocked include once earlier this year and once in 2020. In our token report for Q4 2021, we announced plans to leave a tranche unlocked in Q1 2022 and confirmed in the token report for Q1 2022 that we did so, removing Tranche D from the long-term rolling lockup (see the second table below). Before that, the last time a tranche was left unlocked was in 2020, when the STORJ tokens in the tranche that unlocked at the end of Q3 of 2020 (Tranche G) were put into operational reserves, and we began relocking tranches for seven consecutive quarters. Along with the unlocking of Tranche F, which was the tranche that unlocked at the end of September this year, there are five remaining rolling tranches (see second table below for details).

Highlights from Q3 2022

The following are some highlights from the table below that details token flows in the quarter ending September 30, 2022:

a) 183.8M STORJ were in rolling time-locked contracts as of the end of Q3 ‘22, as reflected in rows 1-3. Next quarter’s token report will reflect that 30.6M tokens from the tranche that was left unlocked at the end of Q3 ‘22 will be put into operational reserves. Each tranche has 30.625M tokens and its own address (for details see the second table below).

b) SJCX-STORJ conversions historically were reported in rows 4-7. As explained in our Q3 2019 STORJ Token Balances and Flow Report and our Q4 2019 STORJ Token Balances and Flow Report, after providing ample notice to holders of SJCX, we executed our plan to shut down the SJCX-STORJ converter at the end of 2019. Accordingly, rows 4-7, which previously reported such activity are now intentionally left blank since there was no conversion in 2021 or 2022.

c) Rows 8-17 show operating supply at the beginning of the quarter, transfers of STORJ tokens in and out of the operating supply during the quarter, and the operating supply held by Storj at the end of the quarter. At the end of Q2 ‘22, Storj held 27.9M STORJ tokens in operational reserves (row 8). During Q2, we used 18.5M STORJ tokens: 0.5M to pay Storage Node Operators (row 9), 2.1M to pay service providers (row 11), 1.9M tokens for bonuses and to pay Storj team members who elect to receive some of their pay in STORJ tokens (row 13), and 14M tokens for the repurchase of company shares and other payments including general operations and liquidity purposes not otherwise described above. This activity left a total of 9.4M STORJ in our operational reserves (row 17).

d) At the end of September 2022, there were 213.3M STORJ in circulation (row 19). In Q3 2022, 18.5M were put into circulation from Storj’s operating supply, making the total circulating supply approximately 231.8M STORJ at the end of Q3 (row 19), with another 9.3M in operational and non-time-locked reserves held by Storj (row 17). The bulk of the operational reserves are held in a cold wallet.

e) The total non-circulating supply held by Storj as of the end of Q3 is 193.2M (row 18), comprised of the 9.4M in non-time-locked reserves (operating supply at the end of the Q3 2022) plus 183.8M in time-locked reserves (long term lockup as of the end of the period). The total supply as of the end of Q3 is 231.8M in circulation plus the 193.2M non-circulating supply, which totals 425M STORJ tokens.

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For purposes of our quarterly reports, the figures in the table are rounded.

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Overview

In May of 2017, Storj Labs International SEZC (formerly Storj Labs (BVI) Ltd), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Storj Labs Inc., conducted a public token sale. As a reminder, we intend to provide a quarterly update on the business and network through our regular town hall meeting. It’s our intention to continue producing this token report on a quarterly basis. This report has been independently verified.

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Source : www.storj.io/blog/storj-token-balances-and-flows-report-q3-2022 by Katherine Johnson - November 15, 2022