Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This page answers the most common questions about the AetherCycle protocol.
General Questions
Q: What is AetherCycle in simple terms? A: AetherCycle functions as a fully autonomous financial protocol. It generates revenue, adds liquidity, burns tokens, and distributes rewards to its community—all based on immutable mathematical rules, without human intervention.
Q: What is AutonoFi (Autonomous Finance)? A: AutonoFi refers to DeFi protocols that operate on provable mathematical guarantees rather than human promises. In AetherCycle, this means no admin keys, no upgradeability, and no reliance on a development team for ongoing operation after launch.
Q: Is there a roadmap? A: No. AetherCycle is a finished, autonomous system. Its only ongoing promise is to function exactly as designed, indefinitely.
Tokenomics & AEC
Q: What is the total supply of AEC? Can it increase? A: The total supply is fixed at 888,888,888 AEC. The AECToken contract has no minting function, so the supply can never increase. The Perpetual Engine's burn mechanism ensures the supply is deflationary over time.
Q: Why is there a tax on some transactions? A: The "Tolerant Fortress" tax system applies only to on-chain trades and interactions with unofficial contracts. Wallet-to-wallet transfers are tax-free. This tax ensures that economic activity contributes to the protocol’s sustainability.
Q: Why is the founder's allocation only 1%? A: To ensure the protocol is community-owned (99%), with the 1% allocation subject to a 5-year cliff and oversight by the Accountability DAO.
Staking
Q: Which staking pool has the highest potential rewards? A: The LP Staking pool receives the largest share of rewards (50%) and offers the highest APY to compensate for liquidity provision risk.
Q: Can I withdraw my staked tokens if I lock them? A: Tokens can only be withdrawn after the chosen lock period (30, 90, or 180 days). The “Flexible” tier allows instant withdrawal.
Q: Is there a lock period for NFT staking? A: No. NFT staking via the AECStakingNFT contract has no lock period; users can stake and unstake at any time.
Perpetual Engine & Endowment
Q: Who can run the Perpetual Engine's runCycle() function?
A: Anyone. The function is permissionless. Callers receive a small incentive (0.1% of new taxes) for triggering the cycle.
Q: What happens if the Endowment runs out of funds? A: It is mathematically impossible. The Endowment releases only 0.5% of its remaining balance per cycle, which approaches zero over an infinite horizon but never reaches it, guaranteeing perpetual operation.
Security & Governance
Q: Are the smart contracts audited? A: The protocol will undergo a full third-party security audit before mainnet launch. The report will be publicly available in the Security Verification section.
Q: Can the DAO change the protocol rules? A: No. The Accountability DAO has limited authority—only to extend or burn the founder's vesting allocation. It cannot modify the Perpetual Engine, tax rates, or other core economic parameters.
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