Question 1

What is QI?

Accepted Answer

QI is the token of the BENQI protocol. BENQI is built on Avalanche, and its products include AVAX liquid staking, digital-asset lending and borrowing markets, and Avalanche validator infrastructure; QI is used in the protocol's incentive arrangements and as a staking asset for participating in validator services through Ignite's Stake program. Holding QI alone is not the same as depositing into a lending pool, staking AVAX, or automatically operating a validator. Each product has separate deposit, collateral, fee, or staking conditions.

Question 2

What is the difference between QI and sAVAX?

Accepted Answer

QI and sAVAX are two different assets. QI is BENQI's protocol token; sAVAX is the liquid staking token users receive after staking AVAX in BENQI, representing the corresponding staked position. They are created and used differently: obtaining sAVAX requires staking AVAX, and sAVAX can be held, exchanged, or used as collateral in Avalanche DeFi; QI's uses are related to protocol incentives and Ignite's QI staking program. QI should not be treated as proof of AVAX staking merely because both are associated with BENQI.

Question 3

What are QI's supply and unlock status?

Accepted Answer

QI has a total supply of 7.2 billion tokens. Official allocation categories include core contributors, the foundation, exchange liquidity, the seed round, the private round, two public sales, and liquidity and community incentives. The current official distribution table lists all of the above categories as fully unlocked, with 3.24 billion tokens allocated to liquidity and community incentives. Fully unlocked means that the original lockup or vesting restrictions have ended; it does not mean that all of these tokens were sold at the same time, entered a particular trading venue, or were all distributed to specific users.

Question 4

How is QI used for community and liquidity incentives?

Accepted Answer

3.24 billion QI, or 45% of the total supply, is allocated to BENQI's liquidity and community incentive programs, and official documentation marks this category as fully unlocked. These programs use QI to incentivize protocol growth and seek to maintain high capital utilization and broader participation across lending and borrowing pools. "Unlocked" and the rate at which a particular incentive is being paid are two different things: the former means the category is no longer subject to its original lockup restrictions; the latter still depends on the specific incentive program. Official materials state that incentive allocations may be adjusted as governance evolves and market conditions change, so 45% alone cannot be used to infer actual rewards or additional circulating supply during a particular period.

Question 5

Can QI be used for validator services?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In BENQI Ignite's Stake program, users stake QI and pay a hosting fee, while the service runs automated Avalanche validators; participants who meet the program's conditions can receive QI rewards. This design places the technical operations needed for validator deployment with Ignite. This does not mean that every QI holder automatically receives rewards. Rewards require entering the Ignite Stake program and complying with its then-current staking and fee requirements; simply leaving QI in a wallet does not constitute participation.

Question 6

What risks should I consider when using BENQI services?

Accepted Answer

When using BENQI services, risks depend on the product being used. Borrowing in lending markets generally requires overcollateralization: a position may be liquidated if collateral value falls or debt rises relative to collateral to the liquidation threshold. In addition, protocol interactions still carry smart-contract risk; collateral or liquid-staking assets such as sAVAX are also affected by the relevant asset price and market liquidity. QI incentives, staking, or trading do not eliminate these product-level risks; asset price risk, liquidation mechanisms, and contract-execution risk should each be understood separately.

Question 7

How do BENQI's lending and borrowing markets work?

Accepted Answer

BENQI Markets depositors and borrowers operate through the same pool mechanism: depositors provide funds available to borrow and earn yield, while borrowers obtain funds through overcollateralization. Yield and borrowing terms change with the capital utilization of each market and its corresponding parameters. BENQI distinguishes between core markets for highly liquid assets and markets for a broader range of Avalanche ecosystem assets. The latter use a segregated risk-management design intended to prevent volatility or liquidity issues in one category of long-tail assets from directly affecting other markets; this does not mean that the market is risk-free.

BENQI (BENQI) Price