Filecoin's six-year insider vesting ends October 15, shrinking new FIL supply
In brief
- Protocol Labs and Filecoin Foundation vesting ends October 15, according to Crypto Briefing.
- Roughly 66.7 to 68 million FIL in annual new supply drops off the schedule.
- Yearly FIL additions fall from about 89 million to 21 million, Crypto Briefing estimates.
- Block rewards become the only source of new FIL once the unlocks stop.
- FIL rose between 10% and 24% ahead of the change, the outlet reported.
Where the insider tokens came from
When Filecoin launched in October 2020, two insider allocations were set to unlock in a straight line over six years, according to Crypto Briefing's account of the launch schedule. Protocol Labs, the company that built the network, received 300 million FIL. The Filecoin Foundation got 100 million.
That's the stream that's about to stop.
So what's left? Block rewards. Filecoin's dual minting model for storage providers has a "simple" component that releases tokens on a fixed decay schedule and a "baseline" component tied to network storage growth targets. Crypto Briefing puts gross annual issuance at an estimated 88 to 89 million FIL, falling to around 21 to 22 million once vesting ends (all of it from block rewards, with the exact figure depending on mining pace).
Burns, collateral and net supply
Gross issuance isn't the whole picture. Network fees burn a portion of FIL permanently, and storage providers have to lock FIL as collateral. After October, new supply would represent approximately 2% of circulating supply per year, the outlet said, depending on how much gets burned and locked.
Crypto Briefing also cited simulations from unattributed network analysis suggesting net FIL growth could decline by 86% to 119% from August 2026 levels by the end of 2027. Those are simulations, not a forecast. A figure above 100% would mean net supply contracts, with burns and collateral locks removing more FIL than block rewards create.
Demand and price
On the demand side, Filecoin is positioning new products, including Filecoin Onchain Cloud and Fil One, to grow paid demand. Crypto Briefing reported that annualized payments through Filecoin Onchain Cloud were expected to climb from $663 in January 2026 to $59,327 by August 2026.
FIL prices rose between 10% and 24% ahead of the supply cut, according to the outlet. It didn't establish that the vesting change caused the move, and we're not drawing that line either.
Many tokens launched in the same era had multi-year insider vesting schedules, Crypto Briefing noted.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Filecoin's FIL issuance dropping in October 2026?
According to Crypto Briefing, the six-year vesting schedule for Protocol Labs and the Filecoin Foundation ends on October 15, 2026. That removes roughly 66.7 to 68 million FIL of annual new supply, leaving block rewards as the only source of new FIL.
How much new FIL will be issued after vesting ends?
Crypto Briefing estimates gross annual issuance will fall from about 88 to 89 million FIL to around 21 to 22 million FIL, all from block rewards. The figure depends on mining pace. The outlet put the cut at roughly 75%.
How do burns and collateral affect FIL supply?
Filecoin network fees burn a portion of FIL permanently, and storage providers must lock FIL as collateral. Crypto Briefing said new supply would represent approximately 2% of circulating supply per year after October 2026, depending on burns and collateral locks.
