---
title: Values
description: Value proposition and economic principles underlying the SNR token and its role in the ecosystem
sidebarTitle: "Core Values"
icon: "heart"
---

## Overview

The SNR token's value derives from fundamental economic principles, network utility, and carefully designed tokenomics. Understanding these value drivers helps participants make informed decisions about their involvement in the Sonr ecosystem.

<Note>
  Token value = Fundamental Value + Token-Specific Non-Fundamentals +
  Market/Industry Non-Fundamentals
</Note>

## Fundamental Value Drivers

### Economic Activity

The core value proposition stems from actual network usage across Sonr's core modules:

```math
\text{Fundamental Value} = \frac{\text{Economic Activity}}{\text{Circulating Supply} \times \text{Velocity}}
```

<CardGroup>
  <Card title="Service Registration">
    TLD domain fees and capability requests through the Service module
  </Card>
  <Card title="Identity Operations">
    DID registration, authentication linking, and assertion management
  </Card>
  <Card title="Authorization Services">
    UCAN issuance, revocation processing, and MPC signing operations
  </Card>
  <Card title="Vault Operations">
    DWN configuration updates and cross-chain management beyond gasless claiming
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Network Effects

Value increases exponentially with network growth:

1. **User Growth**: More vault claims and DID registrations increase identity network value
2. **Service Adoption**: More TLD registrations create a valuable service namespace
3. **Developer Integration**: Services leveraging UCAN authorization expand utility
4. **Validator Participation**: MPC signing nodes improve security and capability issuance

## Property Rights

The SNR token grants specific rights that create intrinsic value:

### Governance Rights

- **Protocol Decisions**: Vote on network upgrades and parameters
- **Treasury Management**: Control community fund allocation
- **Economic Policy**: Influence inflation and reward distribution

### Economic Rights

- **Staking Rewards**: Earn returns for securing the network
- **Fee Sharing**: Participate in protocol revenue distribution
- **Priority Access**: Enhanced service levels for token holders

### Network Access

- **Service Registration**: Required for claiming TLD domains and registering services
- **Identity Management**: Essential for DID operations and authentication linking
- **Capability Authorization**: Needed for UCAN issuance and delegation chain verification
- **Vault Configuration**: Access to advanced vault features beyond gasless claiming

<Check>
  The combination of governance, economic, and access rights creates a
  comprehensive value proposition for SNR holders.
</Check>

## Value Accrual Mechanisms

### Supply Reduction

Multiple mechanisms reduce effective token supply:

<CardGroup>
  <Card title="Staking Lockups">
    Validators and delegators lock tokens for rewards
  </Card>
  <Card title="Fee Burning">
    Portion of transaction fees permanently removed
  </Card>
  <Card title="Governance Deposits">Tokens locked for proposal creation</Card>
  <Card title="Service Registration">
    TLD domain registration fees create deflationary pressure
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Demand Growth

Sustainable demand drivers include:

1. **Organic Growth**: Natural increase in users and transactions
2. **New Use Cases**: Expanding utility through development
3. **Partnership Integration**: External protocols adopting SNR
4. **Premium Features**: Advanced services requiring SNR payment

## Economic Sustainability

### Revenue Model

The network generates sustainable revenue through module-specific operations:

- **Service Module**: TLD domain registration fees and capability request deposits
- **DID Module**: Identity registration, authentication linking, and assertion management fees
- **UCAN Module**: Root capability issuance and revocation processing fees
- **DWN Module**: Advanced vault configuration and cross-chain operation fees
- **Validator Operations**: MPC signing participation and consensus rewards

### Cost Structure

Efficient operations maintain profitability:

- **MPC Infrastructure**: Multi-party computation hardware and coordination costs
- **Module Development**: Ongoing improvements to Service, DID, UCAN, and DWN modules
- **Security Audits**: WASM runtime, capability verification, and cryptographic audits
- **Gasless Subsidies**: Network-funded vault claiming to remove onboarding barriers

## Market Dynamics

### Price Discovery

Token price reflects multiple factors:

<Warning>
  While fundamental value provides a baseline, market sentiment and external
  factors significantly influence short-term price movements.
</Warning>

### Non-Fundamental Factors

#### Token-Specific

- Marketing campaigns and viral growth
- Exchange listings and liquidity
- Partnership announcements
- Technical milestones

#### Market-Wide

- Cryptocurrency market cycles
- Regulatory developments
- Macroeconomic conditions
- Technology trends

## Value Propositions

### For Users

1. **Digital Sovereignty**: Control your DID and vault without intermediaries
2. **Gasless Onboarding**: Free vault claiming removes barriers to entry
3. **Seamless Authentication**: WebAuthn integration with hardware-backed security
4. **UCAN Authorization**: Granular, revocable permissions replace dangerous unlimited approvals

### For Developers

1. **Service Registration**: Claim unique TLD domains for decentralized services
2. **UCAN Integration**: Built-in authorization system with capability delegation
3. **Identity Infrastructure**: Native DID support with WebAuthn authentication
4. **Revenue Models**: Earn through UCAN-mediated service interactions and fee sharing

### For Validators

1. **MPC Signing Rewards**: Additional compensation for multi-party computation participation
2. **Capability Issuance**: Central role in root UCAN creation through threshold signing
3. **Network Security**: Staking rewards for consensus participation and vault protection
4. **Governance Influence**: Vote on protocol parameters and module improvements

### For Investors

1. **Module Expansion**: Growing utility across Service, DID, UCAN, and DWN modules
2. **Deflationary Pressure**: Service registration fees and transaction burns reduce supply
3. **Identity Network Effects**: Value compounds as more DIDs and services join the ecosystem
4. **Technical Innovation**: Cutting-edge MPC, WASM, and WebAuthn integration

## Comparative Advantages

### vs. Traditional Systems

- **No Intermediaries**: Direct value transfer
- **Global Access**: Permissionless participation
- **Transparency**: On-chain verification
- **User Control**: Self-sovereign identity

### vs. Other Blockchains

- **Native Authorization**: Built-in UCAN capability system replaces external auth
- **Gasless Onboarding**: Free vault claiming removes crypto barriers
- **MPC Security**: Multi-party computation eliminates single points of failure
- **WebAuthn Integration**: Hardware-backed authentication without seed phrase management

## Long-Term Value Thesis

### Sustainable Growth

The SNR token's value proposition centers on:

1. **Real Utility**: Actual usage drives demand
2. **Network Effects**: Growth compounds value
3. **Economic Alignment**: All participants benefit
4. **Technical Innovation**: Continuous improvement

### Value Metrics

Key indicators of fundamental value:

<CardGroup>
  <Card title="Vault Claims">
    Growing number of gasless vault registrations
  </Card>
  <Card title="Service Registrations">
    TLD domain claims and capability requests
  </Card>
  <Card title="UCAN Issuance">
    Authorization activity and delegation chains
  </Card>
  <Card title="MPC Participation">
    Validator involvement in threshold signing
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  The SNR token represents ownership in a new paradigm of user-controlled
  internet infrastructure, with value derived from real utility, network
  effects, and sustainable economics.
</Note>