Aptos approves 2.1B hard cap and 10x gas fee burn
Aptos (APT)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Cryptobriefing.com reports that Aptos has approved proposal AIP-140, a major tokenomics overhaul introducing a 2.1 billion APT hard supply cap. The proposal slashes annual staking rewards from 5.19% to 2.6% while increasing transaction costs by a factor of ten. Crucially, 100% of the collected gas fees will be permanently burned, removing tokens from circulation indefinitely.
At the time of approval, circulating supply was approximately 1.196 billion APT, leaving 904 million APT of headroom before the new ceiling is reached. The Aptos Foundation also permanently locked and staked 210 million APT, representing roughly 18% of the circulating supply. This move aims to accelerate the burn rate, which had cumulatively reached 1.8 million APT since the mainnet launch in October 2022.
By cutting rewards and redirecting fees to burns, the network seeks to eventually destroy tokens faster than staking creates them. This structure mirrors Ethereum’s EIP-1559 but goes further by burning all gas fees rather than just a portion. Any future minting beyond the 2.1 billion limit would require fresh community governance approval. This gives APT holders veto power over future dilution of the asset.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for APT, measured when this story was written up on 15 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
APT is trading at $0.5900 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 66.0%, indicating strong immediate buying pressure. However, this momentum is fading over a longer timeframe, as the 4-hour buy ratio drops to 47.9%, suggesting a shift toward net selling in the short term. Over the past 24 hours, the buy ratio stabilizes at 53.3%, showing a slight edge for buyers. The 1-hour volume delta is positive at $48,400, reflecting recent aggressive buying, while the 4-hour delta is negative at -$34,352, indicating recent profit-taking or selling. The 24-hour volume delta and CVD both stand at +$357,349, confirming net accumulation over the day. Spot volume for the period is $5,352,938 across 19,958 trades.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.3% sits at the 12th percentile of the last 324 days, against a median of 49.3% - weaker buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for APT, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Compared to the preceding week, today’s buy ratio is 3.1 points higher than the 7-day average of 50.3%. Trading volume is currently at 0.69x the weekly average, indicating lighter participation than usual. Over the eight-day period, the price has declined by 8.0% despite a total volume delta of +$652,639. Net buying occurred on 5 of the last 7 days, showing a generally positive trend despite the price drop. This suggests that while accumulation has been consistent, the broader market has been selling into the bids.