To All Supporters and Early Adopters of QDay:
As the QDay ecosystem continues to evolve, we are reviewing our token incentive structure to ensure its long-term sustainability.
The QDAY Staking Program was introduced during the early stage of the ecosystem to encourage long-term participation and strengthen community alignment.
As the ecosystem enters its next phase, we believe it is important to maintain a healthier balance between ecosystem incentives and long-term token supply.
Therefore, we will discontinue the current staking reward program for QDAY on 15 October 2026 ("program termination date") and reduce token emissions in preparation for the network's next major upgrade in Q1 2027.
All staking rewards accrued before the program termination date will be honored according to the existing staking rules.
All staked $QDAY tokens and rewards will be unstaked on the program termination date. The claim period will be open until 31 December 2026, during which stakers can claim their $QDAY tokens back to their wallets. A simple user guide will be provided for those who need it.
This adjustment is part of a broader evolution of QDAY's tokenomics — shifting from passive staking incentives toward a more sustainable, utility-driven ecosystem model.
Further details regarding the transition timeline and future QDAY incentive mechanisms will be announced separately.
Community FAQ
To everyone who staked $QDAY tokens with us: thank you. You committed to our QDay project when it was still proving that a quantum-resistant, EVM-compatible network could be built at all. That conviction helped carry the project to where it is today.
And today looks very different. The upgraded QDay is live on Aevum Testnet, with mainnet targeted for Q1 2027: a post-quantum blockchain built for payments, decentralized applications and the agent-led economy, with sub-second settlement, a 4,000+ TPS launch target, sub-cent fees and native x402 support.
As we prepare for mainnet, we are retiring the staking program. Below is why we are doing it, what it means for you, and why we believe it puts every $QDAY holder in a stronger position for what comes next.
Important Note: Since the upgraded QDay Network will be issuing its own $QDAY tokens—with the same total supply, but different tokenomics—for the rest of this FAQ, all existing tokens shall be referred to as $QDAYe tokens ("e" for existing). These will be swapped for the new $QDAY tokens one-to-one once they are launched on the new mainnet.
1. Why is QDay stopping the staking program?
Because QDay is about to become something much bigger than it was when staking launched.
Staking was built for QDay's first chapter. Back then, the most valuable thing the community could do was commit, hold and stand behind an ambitious thesis. Stakers did exactly that, and the program did its job.
The next chapter is different in scale. The upgraded QDay is designed to be the settlement layer for stablecoin payments, smart-wallet automation and autonomous AI agents, all on a post-quantum foundation. A network like that earns its value from what gets built and transacted on it, not from tokens sitting locked away.
So we are making a deliberate choice: mainnet should launch on a token economy powered by real activity, rather than carrying forward an incentive model designed for an earlier stage. Retiring staking now, before mainnet, is how we make that happen.
2. Does this mean there is a problem with QDay?
Quite the opposite. This is a planned step in a major upgrade. There has been no security incident and no protocol failure.
QDay is in its strongest position yet: a new-generation, modular architecture is live on Aevum Testnet, connected to Polygon's AggLayer for broader interoperability, with native stablecoin payments, ERC-4337 smart wallets, ERC-8004 agent identity and x402 support on the way, plus a clear progressive path to native post-quantum signing.
Projects retire launch-stage incentives when they are confident the network can stand on its own merits. That is exactly where we are.
3. Did staking cause too many tokens to enter circulation?
Staking has been the main source of $QDAYe tokens entering the ecosystem. That was by design, and it made sense when the priority was building an early, committed community.
But every released reward token also adds to total circulated supply, which gradually dilutes every holder's share of the total network value, including stakers themselves. Over a short launch phase, that trade-off is worth it. Over the long run, it works against the people it was meant to reward.
Turning off this source of token release ahead of mainnet means the $QDAYe you already hold is no longer diluted by new releases, and the builders, partners and users arriving with mainnet step into a cleaner, steadier tokenomics.
4. Why stop staking instead of simply reducing the APY?
Because a smaller version of the same model still points in the wrong direction.
A lower APY would slow the dilution, but it would still reward tokens for sitting idle. We would rather make one clear, well-communicated transition than a slow taper.
A clean break also frees us to design what comes next around the activities that actually grow the network: building applications, routing payments, deploying agents, integrating QDay into products and contributing to the ecosystem. An economy built for agents and payments needs tokens in motion, not tokens locked away.
5. What happens to my staked tokens and rewards?
Your staked $QDAYe remains yours, and rewards you have legitimately earned remain yours. Here is how the transition works:
- Reward cutoff: staking rewards stop accruing on 15 October 2026, 12:00 (HKT).
- Earned rewards: all rewards accrued up to the cutoff will be honored in full under the existing staking rules.
- Withdrawals: the withdrawal window opens on 15 October 2026 and remains open until 31 December 2026, 12:00 (HKT). After that, please contact support@qday.io to claim any remaining assets.
- How to withdraw: step-by-step instructions will be published on our official channels.
Note: Please rely only on official QDay channels (i.e. website, X, and Telegram) for transition details. The QDay team will never DM you first, ask for your seed phrase or private keys, or ask you to send tokens anywhere to "migrate" or "unlock" them.
6. Is the project doing this because the project cannot afford the rewards?
No. This decision is about network design, not budget.
The question we asked was not "can we keep paying this?" but "is this the best use of QDay's token economy as we head into mainnet?" Issuing new tokens to sustain passive yield adds supply without adding usage, and that does not serve holders over the long run.
PQA Labs continues to invest heavily in the things that do grow the network: the upgraded architecture, SDKs and APIs, developer and builder support, payment and agent infrastructure, and a successful mainnet launch in Q1 2027.
7. Is this being done to increase the token price?
We won't make promises about price, and we would encourage you to be cautious of anyone who does. Prices are set by the market and depend on many factors outside any team's control.
What we can tell you is what this change is designed to do: remove a constant source of new token release and align the new $QDAY with real usage of the network. Those are the fundamentals a healthy, long-term token economy is built on. Our job is to build a network worth using, and that is where our focus is.
8. Will the token become deflationary after staking stops?
We would rather be precise than overpromise: no, this is not deflation. The tokens that are already in circulation stay in circulation.
What changes is that the largest source of new token release switches off. That makes $QDAY's supply significantly more predictable, which matters to holders and also to the builders, partners and institutions evaluating QDay ahead of mainnet. A token economy people can model with confidence is a stronger foundation for an ecosystem to grow on.
9. Without staking rewards, why should users keep holding the tokens?
Because of where QDay is going.
Staking was a closed loop in the old network: hold $QDAYe, receive more $QDAYe. The next chapter connects the new $QDAY to something far larger than itself. Automated traffic overtook human traffic on the web for the first time in 2026, x402 has already processed more than 50 million machine-to-machine transactions, and stablecoins are becoming the default settlement rail for digital commerce. Almost none of that runs on cryptography built to withstand quantum computing. QDay is built to carry both.
$QDAY will be the native token and governance asset of the upgraded network. Holding $QDAYe means holding a stake in that network at the moment it heads to mainnet.
This shift puts what matters most at the center: real applications, real payments and real agents using QDay every day.
10. Will $QDAY introduce staking or other rewards again?
Not in the old passive form. But rewards are not disappearing; they are getting smarter.
Any future incentive program will be designed to reward contribution to the network, such as building applications, integrating payments, deploying agents, providing feedback on Aevum and helping the community grow. Details will be announced separately through official channels when they are ready.
If you want to be part of what comes next, the best place to start is Aevum Testnet, which is live now.