Project & Team
Description of Project
Provide a narrative description of the purpose of the project.
Onchain activity is pseudonymous and trust is illegible: users have no reliable way to know who is credible, and scams, spam, and sybil behaviour thrive as a result. Ethos solves this by making trust financially legible. Participants stake value in vouches for people they trust, backed by slashing risk, producing a public credibility score anyone can verify before they interact.
Ethos is an onchain reputation protocol, live on Base since January 2025. Users build credibility through vouches (staked endorsements of other users), reviews, and attestations, which feed a public Ethos score that anyone can check before interacting with a counterparty. Validators attest to humanity with slashable bonds, and reputation markets let participants take positions on profile trustworthiness. The $WHUF token makes this economy native: vouches are staked in $WHUF, every protocol fee is burned, and contributor rewards are emitted by smart contract from a fixed pool. 10,000,000 $WHUF were minted at genesis on September 8, 2026; 60,530.73 unawarded referral-bonus tokens were burned in the same transaction, leaving a fixed supply of 9,939,469.27 with no minting function.
The token has five primary functions. (1) Vouching: staking $WHUF in another user's profile as a public, slashable endorsement, the core input to the credibility graph. (2) Protocol fees: actions that write to the reputation graph (reviews, attestations, vouches, verification) carry small fees paid in $WHUF, all of which are burned on receipt. (3) Contributor rewards: 18% of supply is emitted by the EthosRewards contract to active vouchers on a continuous decay schedule. (4) Reputation markets: trust and distrust positions on profiles are denominated in $WHUF ($WHUF-denominated trading pairs go live October 8, 2026). (5) Human verification bonds: validators back humanity attestations with three-year slashable $WHUF deposits. The token confers no governance rights over a DAO and no claim on revenue or dividends.
Ongoing development is funded through a layered structure. Ethos Network, Inc. (the US development company) is paid in fiat/USDC on a cost-plus basis under a Master Services Agreement and Statement of Work No. 1 with the Ethos Foundation (both dated July 27, 2026) and holds no protocol fee revenue. The Foundation directs long-term protocol support through dedicated allocations: 5% of supply for ecosystem development, 10% for treasury (8% on a 12-month cliff with 24-month linear unlock; 2% unlocking October 8, 2026 and loaned to market makers as disclosed in Section 12), and 5% for bounties. Proceeds of the September 2026 public sale (US$8.4M) are held by Ethos Token Ltd under a board-approved treasury policy, backing the contractual price guarantee owed to sale participants. Contributor incentives are self-sustaining by design: the 18% rewards pool is emitted by smart contract on a continuous decay model and requires no ongoing revenue source, and all protocol fees are burned rather than collected.
The protocol relies on a limited set of control surfaces. Contract upgrades and critical parameters require a 3-of-5 owner multisig, allocation funds sit in dedicated 3-of-5 Safe multisigs, and the contributor rewards emission rate is Foundation-adjustable within a contract-enforced ceiling. No minting function exists and all protocol fees are burned by contract, so neither supply expansion nor fee capture is possible through any control surface. There is no current plan to transition to a DAO; any material evolution of the governance or control model would be publicly disclosed in advance.
Known Project Team
For each existing entity: Labs/DevCo (e.g., Founder, CEO, CTO, COO), Foundation (e.g., President, Executive Director, CFO, COO), and DAO / onchain governance leadership (if applicable) list the:
- (a) full names,
- (b) official titles,
- (c) and prior experience of key team members.
For any non-existent entity, explicitly mention it does not exist. External links may be included but they will not factor into the score.
Labs / DevCo
Full Name | Official Title | Prior Experience |
|---|---|---|
Trevor Thompson | CEO, Co-Founder | 12-year product leader; ex-PM at Atlassian incubator; Director of Product at HCP; first hire at M.io (YC W16); Managing Partner at 0x5f Capital, a liquid crypto trading hedge fund |
Benjamin Walther | CTO, Co-Founder | 16-year engineer focused on identity, trust, and security systems; two-time founding engineer; first engineering hire at StackRox (acquired by Red Hat); O'Reilly author; previously at FINRA building fraud detection systems |
Foundation
Full Name | Official Title | Prior Experience |
|---|---|---|
Dzidzai "Shaun" Musuka | Director (sole director) | Director of the Ethos Foundation and of Ethos Token Ltd; also serves at Steakhouse Financial, a crypto-native financial advisory firm |
DAO / Onchain Governance
Full Name | Official Title | Prior Experience |
|---|---|---|
N/A | No DAO exists | Ethos does not operate a DAO or onchain governance body; protocol stewardship rests with the Ethos Foundation |
DAO Structure
Provide a structured description of the DAO's governance, powers, and economic rights. If a DAO does not exist, state so for each sub question. Even if there is no DAO, there must be an answer to (d). Address the lettered items below.
- (a) IP ownership & control — State what IP the DAO owns or controls (e.g., codebases/repos, trademarks/brands). Note any license if relevant.
- (b) Contract/admin powers — List on-chain or administrative authorities and limits: pause/upgrade roles (e.g., multisig pause), governance-executor authorities, and the method of authority for each (e.g., veto, majority, super-majority).
- (c) Locked-token rights (conditional) — If locking/staking for additional rights exists, explain the additional rights and what tokenholders can and cannot decide. If no locking mechanism exists, leave absent.
- (d) Current tokenholder governance rights and economic arrangements — If any, describe the current governance rights of tokenholders and any presently operative rights or arrangements relating to treasury actions, fee-routing, rewards, buybacks, or other protocol-controlled resources. If none, state that explicitly.
- (e) Control surface reliance — If any, briefly describe the anticipated or possible evolution of the protocol's governance/control model.
- (f) Dissolution authority — State who can dissolve/wind up the DAO and by what mechanism (e.g., on-chain vote threshold, board resolution of a legal wrapper).
(a) IP ownership & control
No DAO exists. Protocol IP, including codebases and trademarks/brands, is owned by the Ethos Foundation (Cayman Islands), which stewards it for the long-term benefit of the network. The development company (Ethos Network, Inc.) builds under a Master Services Agreement with the Foundation. No DAO owns or controls any IP.
(b) Contract/admin powers
There is no DAO or governance executor. Administrative authorities and limits: (1) contract upgrades and critical protocol parameters require a 3-of-5 owner multisig (EthosOwner); (2) operational actions (pause/unpause, invite management, non-critical parameters) require a separate 3-of-5 admin multisig (EthosAdmin); (3) allocation treasuries sit in dedicated 3-of-5 Safe multisigs; (4) the contributor rewards emission rate is adjustable by the Foundation within a contract-enforced ceiling (it can never exceed 100% of the remaining pool per year); (5) signer or threshold changes require formal director resolutions under the board-approved Treasury, Custody and Key Management Policy. Hard limits no authority can override: no minting function exists, and protocol fees are burned by contract and cannot be redirected.
(c) Locked-token rights (conditional)
Staking exists in the form of vouching, but it confers no governance rights. Vouching stakes $WHUF in another user's profile: staked tokens become eligible for contributor rewards, feed the vouched user's credibility score, and, for token sale participants, maintaining vouches is a condition of the contractual price guarantee. Vouched or locked tokens carry no voting or decision rights. Tokenholders cannot decide protocol parameters, treasury allocations, or upgrades; those authorities rest with the multisig arrangements and Foundation described in (b).
(d) Current tokenholder governance rights and economic arrangements
Tokenholders hold no governance rights. They have no rights over treasury actions, fee-routing (100% of protocol fees are burned by contract and cannot be routed), or protocol-controlled resources, and there is no buyback program. Two presently operative economic arrangements exist: (1) contributor rewards accrue mechanically to actively vouched tokens from the fixed 18% pool emitted by the EthosRewards contract; and (2) token sale participants who maintain qualifying vouches hold a contractual price guarantee against Ethos Token Ltd (85% of purchase price, US$3.57 per token, redeemable October 8, 2026 - October 8, 2027). Neither arrangement confers any decision-making authority.
(e) Control surface reliance
There is no current plan to transition to a DAO or to materially change the control model. Administrative control is expected to remain with the existing multisig arrangements (3-of-5 for contract upgrades, critical parameters, and allocations) under board-approved treasury and custody policies. Any material evolution of the governance or control model would be publicly disclosed in advance.
(f) Dissolution authority
No DAO exists, so there is no DAO dissolution authority. The legal entities are companies: the Ethos Foundation (Cayman Islands) and Ethos Token Ltd (BVI) can each be wound up only by board/director resolution in accordance with Cayman and BVI law respectively. The protocol's smart contracts are deployed onchain and their operation does not depend on the continued existence of either entity.
Primary Foundation
For the Primary Foundation do the following independently. If a Foundation does not exist, state so for each sub question. Items (a)–(f) apply only if that entity exists; state explicitly that the entity doesn't exist. Definition: The primary Foundation can be explained as the entity which was directly/indirectly involved in the issuance of the native token at launch. If the original Foundation has been dissolved and in its place a "new Foundation" was created, then detail the "new Foundation".
- (a) Entity — Type and jurisdiction.
- (b) IP ownership & control — What IP the entity owns/controls (repos/code, trademarks/brand; license optional)
- (c) Powers over DAO, treasury, protocol-controlled resources, and token administration — If any, describe the current powers over DAO governance, treasury actions, protocol-controlled resources (e.g. revenue), token administration, or reward parameters, and the method/threshold for each.
- (d) Powers over DevCo — Explain whether the foundation can exert direct or indirect influence over decision-making of the DevCo.
- (e) Contract/admin powers — Pause/upgrade/governance-executor authorities, and the method/threshold for each (e.g., veto/majority/super-majority).
- (f) Current economic arrangements and distribution policies — Describe any current governance-approved, contractual, or programmatic mechanisms, if any, by which protocol-controlled resources, treasury assets, fees, revenue, rewards, or token distributions may be directed to this entity, its equityholders, contributors, or other participants. If no such mechanism currently exists, state that explicitly.
(a) Entity
Ethos Foundation, a Cayman Islands foundation company (registration number 434955, formed May 15, 2026). It is memberless with a sole director, holds the protocol IP, and wholly owns Ethos Token Ltd, the BVI company (no. 2209979) that conducted the token sale and issued the native token at launch.
(b) IP ownership & control
The Foundation owns and controls the protocol IP: the Ethos smart contracts and codebases, and the Ethos trademarks and brand (assigned under an IP Assignment Deed dated July 27, 2026). Development work performed by the DevCo under the Master Services Agreement is owned by the Foundation. Its sole mandate is the long-term neutrality and availability of the reputation protocol.
(c) Powers over DAO, treasury, protocol-controlled resources, and token administration
There is no DAO, so the Foundation has no powers over DAO governance. Its current powers, with the method and approval threshold for each:
(1) Treasury actions - directing the Ecosystem Development (5%), Bounties (5%) and Treasury (10%) allocations: each transfer requires 3-of-5 signatures on the dedicated Safe multisig for that allocation, and any transfer outside the published schedule or policy requires a prior director resolution under the Foundation's Treasury, Custody and Key Management Policy.
(2) Token administration - monthly release of vested Team and Early Supporters tokens: each monthly release is a transaction from the relevant allocation Safe requiring 3-of-5 signatures, executed only in the amounts fixed by the published unlock schedule; any release ahead of schedule requires a director resolution.
(3) Reward parameters - adjusting the contributor rewards emission rate on the EthosRewards contract: requires a director resolution and execution through the 3-of-5 EthosOwner multisig; the contract enforces a hard ceiling of 100% of the remaining pool per year, which no threshold can override.
(4) Price guarantee program - administered by the Foundation's subsidiary Ethos Token Ltd: redemptions are paid per the published Token Sale Terms & Conditions from segregated sale proceeds; any change to the program's terms or reserve policy requires a director resolution of Ethos Token Ltd and the Foundation.
(5) Protocol-controlled resources - none: the Foundation cannot collect protocol fees (100% burned by contract) and cannot mint tokens (no mint function exists); no threshold applies because no such power exists.
(d) Powers over DevCo
The Foundation holds no equity in and has no board representation at the DevCo, which is owned by its stockholders. Its influence is limited to its contractual rights as counterparty under the Master Services Agreement and SOW No. 1 (scope of services, deliverables, budget approval, and payment). It cannot direct the DevCo's corporate decision-making.
(e) Contract/admin powers
Pause authority: yes. Protocol contracts can be paused and unpaused by the EthosAdmin multisig, which requires 3-of-5 signatures; the same 3-of-5 EthosAdmin multisig handles other operational actions (invite management, non-critical parameters). Upgrade authority: contract upgrades, critical parameter changes and ownership transfers require 3-of-5 signatures on the EthosOwner multisig. Governance-executor authority: none exists; there is no on-chain governance executor and no unilateral veto. Allocation treasuries require 3-of-5 signatures on their dedicated Safe multisigs. Changes to signers or thresholds on any of these multisigs require a director resolution under the Foundation's board-approved Treasury, Custody and Key Management Policy. Hard limits no authority can override: no minting function exists and protocol fees are burned by contract.
(f) Current economic arrangements and distribution policies
The Foundation receives no protocol fees or revenue; 100% of fees are burned by contract. Formally adopted mechanisms: (1) genesis allocations under Foundation direction, comprising Ecosystem Development (5%), Bounties (5%), and Treasury (10%, of which 8% is subject to a 12-month cliff then 24-month linear unlock and 2% unlocked October 8, 2026 and loaned to market makers under the arrangements in Section 12); (2) the contributor rewards pool (18%), emitted programmatically by the EthosRewards contract to active vouchers; and (3) token sale proceeds (US$8.4M) held by its subsidiary Ethos Token Ltd under a board-approved treasury policy, backing the contractual price guarantee owed to sale participants and funding the Foundation's obligations under the Master Services Agreement with the DevCo. No dividends or distributions to equityholders exist; the Foundation is memberless.
Primary DevCo
For the Primary DevCo do the following independently. If an entity does not exist, state that explicitly across each sub-question. Items (a)–(f) apply only if that entity exists; state explicitly that the entity doesn't exist. Definition: The primary DevCo can be explained as the entity which was directly/indirectly involved in the issuance of the native token at launch. If the original DevCo has been dissolved and in its place a "new DevCo" was created, then detail the "new DevCo".
- (a) Entity — Type and jurisdiction.
- (b) IP ownership & control — What IP the entity owns/controls (repos/code, trademarks/brand; license optional)
- (c) Powers over DAO, treasury, protocol-controlled resources, and token administration — If any, describe the current powers over DAO governance, treasury actions, protocol-controlled resources (e.g. revenue), token administration, or reward parameters, and the method/threshold for each.
- (d) Powers over Foundation — Explain whether the DevCo can exert direct or indirect influence over decision-making of the Foundation.
- (e) Contract/admin powers — Pause/upgrade/governance-executor authorities and the method/threshold for each (e.g., veto/majority/super-majority; "3/5 multisig").
- (f) Current economic arrangements and distribution policies — Describe any current governance-approved, contractual, or programmatic mechanisms, if any, by which protocol-controlled resources, treasury assets, fees, revenue, rewards, or token distributions may be directed to this entity, its equityholders, contributors, or other participants. If no such mechanism currently exists, state that explicitly. Do not discuss hypothetical future dividends, repurchases, or distributions unless formally adopted.
(a) Entity
Ethos Network, Inc. ("Ethos Labs"), a Delaware corporation (United States), is the primary development company. Issuance of the native token at launch was conducted by Ethos Token Ltd, a BVI company wholly owned by the Ethos Foundation, not by the DevCo. The DevCo builds the protocol and front-end under a services agreement and is not the token issuer.
(b) IP ownership & control
The DevCo does not own the protocol IP. Protocol IP, including the smart contracts, codebases, and the Ethos trademarks and brand, was assigned to the Ethos Foundation under an IP Assignment Deed dated July 27, 2026. The DevCo develops software under the Master Services Agreement with work product owned by the Foundation, and it operates development repositories and a front-end in the ordinary course of that engagement.
(c) Powers over DAO, treasury, protocol-controlled resources, and token administration
None unilaterally. There is no DAO. The DevCo does not control treasuries, protocol revenue (there is none; fees are burned), token administration, or reward parameters. Its personnel may serve as individual signers on the protocol multisigs, but every action requires the applicable threshold (3-of-5 for upgrades, critical parameters, and allocation Safes), and the reward emission parameter is exercisable only by the Foundation within the contract-enforced ceiling.
(d) Powers over Foundation
The DevCo cannot exert direct or indirect control over the Foundation's decision-making. It is a contractual service provider under the Master Services Agreement, holds no board seat, no membership interest (the Foundation is memberless), and no Authorised Signer role over Foundation assets. Its influence is limited to making technical recommendations as the protocol's developer.
(e) Contract/admin powers
The DevCo holds no unilateral contract or admin powers. Pause/upgrade authority over protocol contracts requires the 3-of-5 owner multisig (operational pause/unpause via the 3-of-5 admin multisig); allocation treasuries require their dedicated 3-of-5 Safe multisigs; there is no governance executor. No single signer, including DevCo personnel, can act alone, and the DevCo is excluded from custody or control of Issuer and Foundation assets under the board-approved treasury policies and the Master Services Agreement.
(f) Current economic arrangements and distribution policies
The DevCo entity receives no protocol-controlled resources: it is compensated in fiat/USDC on a cost-plus basis (documented cost base plus a 10% service margin; third-party costs reimbursed at cost) under the Master Services Agreement and SOW No. 1 dated July 27, 2026, invoiced quarterly in arrears; no compensation is paid in tokens; there is no protocol revenue (fees are burned); and no treasury assets flow to it. One formally adopted mechanism directs tokens to DevCo contributors as individuals: the Team allocation (2,894,000 tokens, 28.94% of supply) is granted to founders, employees and advisors under the DevCo's board-approved 2026 Token Incentive Plan, with four-year service-based vesting and a lockup releasing 25% on September 8, 2027 and the remainder monthly through September 8, 2030. No dividends, repurchases, or other distributions to the DevCo have been adopted.
Affiliated Protocol Contributor
Definition (for this section): An Affiliated Protocol Contributor (APC) is a non-issuer company - not the protocol's primary Foundation or DevCo - that materially contributes to the protocol's code, operations, governance, or funding. For example, Blockworks Advisory would be considered an APC of Ethena because it materially contributes to its operations through Ethena's risk council. Provide a structured description per APC. If no APCs exist, state that explicitly across each sub-question. Items below apply per APC.
- (a) Identity & role — Legal name, entity type, jurisdiction, and role (e.g., core development, security, infrastructure, market making, operations).
- (b) Parameter control & scope — For each existing APC, if any, what major protocol parameters the APC controls; include the method of authority (e.g., veto, majority, super-majority). If none, say so.
- (c) Contract/admin powers — For each existing APC, if any, provide the pause/upgrade powers (e.g., multisig pause), governance-executor authorities and limitations; include the method of authority for each (e.g. veto, majority, super-majority). If none, say so.
- (d) Compensation and material economic arrangements — For each existing APC, if protocol-generated resources or economic value is dynamically routed to the APC, describe the arrangement. If applicable, include the resource sources, routing mechanism, payment frequency, and duration. If no protocol resources or resources-linked economics are routed to the APC, state that explicitly.
(a) Identity & role
Two APCs exist, both market makers engaged by the Ethos Foundation under executed token loan agreements.
APC 1 - Legal name: GSR Markets Limited (trading as GSR). Entity type: private limited company. Jurisdiction: Hong Kong SAR. Role: market making - two-sided liquidity on centralized exchange trading pairs for $WHUF.
APC 2 - Legal name: Tophash Digital Limited (trading as Tophash Digital). Entity type: private limited company. Jurisdiction: Hong Kong SAR. Role: market making - two-sided liquidity on centralized exchange trading pairs and Base decentralized exchange pools for $WHUF.
Sonar (Echo / Coinbase) operated the September 2026 public sale platform (auction mechanics, KYC/AML, settlement) on a one-time basis and has no ongoing role. No other non-issuer company materially contributes to the protocol's code, operations, governance, or funding.
(b) Parameter control & scope
Neither APC controls any protocol parameter. Market makers have no authority over the token contract, protocol contracts, emission parameters, or treasury.
(c) Contract/admin powers
None. Neither APC holds any pause, upgrade, multisig, or governance-executor role.
(d) Compensation and material economic arrangements
No protocol-generated resources are routed to either APC. Each is compensated through a token loan of 100,000 $WHUF (1% of supply) from the Treasury liquidity allocation, with an embedded call option exercisable per the loan terms (GSR: 18 months; Tophash Digital: 12 months); no cash retainer, no protocol fees, and no discounted token sale. Loan terms are disclosed in Section 12.
Token Supply & Allocation
Initial Allocation
Ticker | Date | Allocation Category Name | Recipient Type | Allocation % | Allocation Tokens | TGE Unlock % | TGE Unlock Tokens | Cliff Months | Cliff Unlock % | Linear Vesting Months | Cadence Months | Circulating Treatment | Notes on what each category is used for | If applicable: Contract / Wallet address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Token Sale | Public / Sale | 0.2 | 2000000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | Yes | Public English auction Sep 1-4 2026 via Sonar; cleared at $4.20/token ($42M FDV); $8.4M raised; 1,404 wallets; tokens subject to 30-day lock from TGE, unlocking Oct 8 2026 | 0x88cE3F766d791A0F9e7e4d6101e79869815cC440 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | XP & Referral Bonus Pool (awarded) | Community | 0.0139 | 139469 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | Yes | Purchase-contingent bonuses to auction participants whose bids cleared: 100,000 XP/validator + 39,469.27 referral, distributed at TGE Sep 8 2026; unlock with sale tokens Oct 8 2026. The unawarded referral balance (60,530.73) was burned at genesis - see Burned row | |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Early Supporters | Private / VC | 0.1106 | 1106000 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.25 | 18 | 1 | Yes | 72 pre-seed and seed SAFE holders; 6-month cliff unlocks 25%, remaining 75% linear monthly over 18 months; no tokens liquid at TGE; monthly releases administered by the Foundation from the allocation multisig | 0x41fcF710ebeC93163CE862D40b2Ea57DDe0c76ae |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Team | Insiders | 0.2894 | 2894000 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.25 | 36 | 1 | Yes | Founders, employees, advisors under 2026 Token Incentive Plan; 4-year service vesting; lockup releases 25% on Sep 8 2027 then monthly through Sep 8 2030; releases administered by the Foundation from the allocation multisig | 0x0783Ee333a8605aAc39c5f523BB2474B2A1c5525 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Ecosystem Development | Ecosystem | 0.05 | 500000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conditional | Deployed at Ethos Foundation discretion; no fixed unlock schedule | 0xB53422dC4A4B96CC26c15AceCCB03A326Aca8532 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Treasury (core) | Treasury | 0.08 | 800000 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 1 | Conditional | Foundation treasury; 12-month cliff (0% at cliff) then linear monthly over 24 months; sales at Foundation discretion | 0x26A866D3d3902b1df131ffc65eA8e8B972D61262 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Treasury (liquidity) | Liquidity | 0.02 | 200000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | Yes | Locked through the 30-day guarantee period like all tokens; unlocks Oct 8 2026 and is loaned to market makers (GSR 100,000 WHUF, 18 months; Tophash Digital 100,000 WHUF, 12 months - see Section 12). No DEX vault deployment | 0x26A866D3d3902b1df131ffc65eA8e8B972D61262 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Bounties | Ecosystem | 0.05 | 500000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conditional | Bounty programs at Ethos Foundation discretion; no fixed unlock schedule | 0xb604624B6570204a3B1b6EE36A0A3b434F393A02 |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Contributor Rewards | Emissions | 0.18 | 1800000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conditional | Programmatic continuous-decay emissions to active vouchers via EthosRewards contract; Foundation-adjustable rate under hard contract cap (max 100% of remaining pool/year); no fixed schedule | 0xC7994A22318eCEb08767FD21Cd8F4D4e8803548A (EthosRewards contract, no multisig) |
WHUF | 2026-09-08 | Burned (unawarded referral bonus) | Burn | 0.0061 | 60531 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No | 60,530.73 unawarded referral-bonus tokens minted and burned in the genesis transaction on Sep 8 2026; total supply after burn 9,939,469.27 | 0xeeee77bC7e82c0d4166d52F58239D4c5Bf41eeee (burn) |
Vesting Insider Tokens
If there are no post-TGE token compensation plans, state explicitly they do not exist across each sub-question. If there are, explain each of (a)–(b) below.
- (a) Post-TGE employee lock as % of total supply — State the current total amount of tokens locked attributable to post-TGE employees, expressed as a percentage of total supply.
- (b) Typical post-TGE vesting schedule — Describe the standard vesting terms used for post-TGE grants, including: cliff length (or "no cliff"), vesting frequency (e.g., monthly/quarterly), and total duration.
(a) Post-TGE employee lock as % of total supply
Post-TGE employee locked tokens: 0% of total supply. No post-TGE token compensation plan exists as a separate plan, and no post-TGE token grants have been made as of September 18, 2026. All insider tokens currently locked (2,894,000 $WHUF, 28.94% of total supply) were granted before TGE under the DevCo's 2026 Token Incentive Plan and are disclosed in Sections 5(f) and 7. If a new hire were granted tokens after TGE, the grant would be made from the unallocated portion of that existing Team allocation under the same plan; no additional supply is reserved for post-TGE compensation.
(b) Typical post-TGE vesting schedule
Standard terms under the 2026 Token Incentive Plan: four-year service-based vesting with a 12-month cliff (25% at cliff), then monthly vesting over the following 36 months. In addition, all Team allocation tokens are subject to the Foundation-administered lockup releasing 25% on September 8, 2027 and the remainder monthly through September 8, 2030, regardless of grant date.
Disclosure of Token Advisory Billings
Disclose current token-based compensation for external advisors and service providers (e.g., legal, marketing, technical, growth) funded from the on-chain treasury. Do not disclose individual payments to advisors receiving fiat-only compensation. If there are no advisors contracted in tokens then state across each sub-question that no token-based advisory compensation exists.
- (a) Existence — Whether any such token-based payments or advisory commitments exist (or explicitly state that no token-based compensation for advisory commitments exist).
- (b) Total token allocation — For all existing token-based advisors, disclose the total token allocation across all advisory services.
- (c) Payer entity — For each existing token-based advisor, share the payer entity (e.g., Foundation, Labs/DevCo, DAO/treasury).
- (d) Description of advisory/services — For each existing token-based advisor, provide a brief description of the advisory/services (e.g., "legal and regulatory advisory," "growth and BD support," "security advisory").
(a) Existence
No token-based compensation for external advisors or service providers is funded from the on-chain treasury or any Foundation allocation. All external legal, audit, tax, compliance, sale-platform, and market-making service providers are paid in fiat/USDC (market makers receive token loans, not compensation - see Sections 6 and 12). A small number of individual advisors to Ethos Network, Inc. hold grants under the DevCo's 2026 Token Incentive Plan drawn from the Team allocation (Section 7); these are service-based grants on the same vesting and lockup terms as employees, not advisory billings from the treasury.
(b) Total token allocation
N/A - no token-based advisory compensation is funded from the treasury.
(c) Payer entity
N/A - no treasury-funded token-based advisors exist.
(d) Description of advisory/services
N/A - no treasury-funded token-based advisors exist.
KOL Marketing Activities
Disclose ongoing KOL/influencer relationships that partially or fully received tokens for payment. You do not need to disclose KOL/influencers that do not receive tokens for payment. If no KOL engagements exist, state for each sub-question that no KOL engagements exist.
- (a) Existence & scope — State plainly whether KOLs receive tokens for payment.
- (b) Usernames & roles — List usernames/handles (with platforms) for KOLs that received token-based compensation and describe the nature of their activities. Legal names are not required.
- (c) Token allocation & vesting/locks — Provide the aggregate token amount across all such arrangements and summarize vesting, lock, or release terms.
(a) Existence & scope
No KOL or influencer receives, or has received, $WHUF as payment. Launch marketing was produced in-house by Ethos Network, Inc. and paid in fiat.
(b) Usernames & roles
N/A - no token-paid KOL or influencer engagements exist.
(c) Token allocation & vesting/locks
N/A - zero tokens have been allocated to KOL or influencer arrangements; no vesting, lock, or release terms apply.
Labelled Unissued & Operational Token Wallets
For each wallet that holds Unissued Tokens or is essential to operations (e.g., foundation, operations, treasury, investor reserve), disclose:
- (a) A category label explaining the wallet's primary function.
- (b) chain the wallet is on.
- (c) The unique address of the wallet.
- (d) The mechanism of control (e.g., DAO, multisig).
- (e) One verification link to a blockchain explorer.
Definition: Unissued Supply = tokens authorized by the contract but not yet issued to any party; where they sit (treasury or mint authority) does not change that they are unissued. For instance: if a token has a total supply cap of 1B, and 400M tokens have been issued to investors, the team, and users (whether vested or unlocked), then those 400M count as issued supply. The remaining 600M are authorized but unissued supply, even if they are already minted into a DAO treasury wallet.
Title | Primary Function | Chain | Address | Control Mechanism | Explorer Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Treasury Safe | Foundation treasury allocation (10%): 8% core, locked (12-month cliff then 24-month linear); 2% liquidity portion, unlocks Oct 8 2026 and loaned to market makers. Unissued supply. | Base | 0x26A866D3d3902b1df131ffc65eA8e8B972D61262 | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
Ecosystem Development Safe | Ecosystem Development allocation (5%), deployed as grants at Foundation discretion. Unissued supply. | Base | 0xB53422dC4A4B96CC26c15AceCCB03A326Aca8532 | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
Bounties Safe | Bounties allocation (5%), released as bounty programs are awarded at Foundation discretion. Unissued supply. | Base | 0xb604624B6570204a3B1b6EE36A0A3b434F393A02 | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
Team allocation Safe | Custody of locked Team grants (28.94%); monthly releases administered by the Foundation per the published schedule. Issued but locked. | Base | 0x0783Ee333a8605aAc39c5f523BB2474B2A1c5525 | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
Early Supporters Safe | Custody of locked Early Supporter grants (11.06%); monthly releases administered by the Foundation per the published schedule. Issued but locked. | Base | 0x41fcF710ebeC93163CE862D40b2Ea57DDe0c76ae | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
EthosRewards contract | Contributor Rewards pool (18%), emitted programmatically to active vouchers on a continuous-decay schedule. Unissued supply. | Base | 0xC7994A22318eCEb08767FD21Cd8F4D4e8803548A | Smart contract; emission-rate parameter adjustable by the Foundation within a hard contract cap via the 3-of-5 owner multisig | |
Token sale distribution wallet | Operational wallet that distributed sale and bonus tokens at TGE (Sep 8 2026); holds no unissued supply. | Base | 0x88cE3F766d791A0F9e7e4d6101e79869815cC440 | 3-of-5 Safe multisig (Ethos Foundation) | |
$WHUF token contract | ERC-20 token contract; fixed supply 9,939,469.27 after the genesis burn, no mint function; owner role held by the EthosOwner multisig. | Base | 0xeeee77bC7e82c0d4166d52F58239D4c5Bf41eeee | EthosOwner 3-of-5 Safe multisig (contract owner role) |
Transactions & Market Structures
Market Maker Agreements & Deals
Projects must disclose all material terms of market-making arrangements that affect token liquidity. If the project has no agreements or deals with market makers, state that explicitly. For each market maker, include in a table:
- (a) Market maker's name — the market maker's name;
- (b) Token allocation or loaned amount — the token allocation or loaned amount as a percentage of total supply;
- (c) Duration/term of agreement — the duration/term of the agreement; and, where applicable,
- (d) Name of agreement structure — label the financial vehicle being used in the agreement (i.e. loan, option/call, retainer model).
If no native tokens were loaned or allocated to market makers, state that explicitly; cash/fiat retainers or fees are not required for (b).
Market Maker Name | Token Allocation Committed | Term Duration | Structure Name |
|---|---|---|---|
GSR | 1% of total supply (100,000 WHUF) loaned from the Treasury liquidity allocation | 18 months | Token loan with call option. No cash retainer; no discounted token sale. |
Tophash Digital | 1% of total supply (100,000 WHUF) loaned from the Treasury liquidity allocation | 12 months | Token loan with call option. No cash retainer; no discounted token sale. |
Exchange Agreements & Deals
Projects must disclose all material terms of centralized or decentralized exchange listings that affect token liquidity. For each listing, include in a table:
- (a) Exchange name / DEX pool — the exchange name (and, for DEX, the specific pool/pair);
- (b) Token allocation for listing — the token allocation supplied or committed for listing as a percentage of total supply;
- (c) Term Duration — the duration/term of any listing lockups, liquidity, or incentive programs; and, where applicable,
- (d) Native-token listing fees — whether any listing fees were paid in native tokens, with amounts (tokens or % of supply), recipients, and any vesting or lock terms tied to the partnership.
If the project has no agreements or deals with CEX or DEX, state that explicitly; doing so earns full credit; cash/fiat fee amounts are not required for this item.
Exchange Name | Token Allocation Committed | Term Duration | Native Token Listing Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
Coinbase | None. No tokens allocated or committed for any listing | N/A | None paid or committed |
Liquidity Deals and Market Activity
If a category does not exist or is not applicable, make that clear in plain language.
- (a) Token repurchases or secondary-market accumulations (if any) — Source of funds, treatment (burn, treasury retention, POL, redistribution, or other), policy controller (who can change the secondary-market accumulation strategy), and whether those tokens may be re-used, re-issued, or permanently removed from circulation.
- (b) Protocol-owned liquidity (POL) (if any) — Where deployed, total token or dollar size across deployments, policy controller (who can change the POL strategy), and unwind/exit policy.
- (c) Liquidity deals / purchased TVL (if any) — The total size across all deals, and where the capital participates - no counterparty names needed.
- (d) Token-secured loans/lines (incl. against unissued tokens) (if any) — Principal, gross position size, collateral, counterparties, and unwind/exit policy.
(a) Token repurchases or secondary-market accumulations (if any)
None. No token repurchases or secondary-market accumulation have occurred or are planned. The only contractual repurchase mechanism is the price guarantee owed by Ethos Token Ltd to eligible sale participants (85% of purchase price, US$3.57 per token, redeemable October 8, 2026 - October 8, 2027, funded from segregated sale proceeds); tokens redeemed under it are retained by Ethos Token Ltd and are not re-issued, and the program can only be changed by director resolution. No open-market buyback program exists.
(b) Protocol-owned liquidity (POL) (if any)
None. No DEX pools are seeded or owned by the Foundation, Ethos Token Ltd, or the DevCo; the previously contemplated Arrakis vault deployment was not entered into. There is no POL strategy or controller.
(c) Liquidity deals / purchased TVL (if any)
None. No liquidity deals or purchased TVL exist.
(d) Token-secured loans/lines (incl. against unissued tokens) (if any)
None. Neither the Foundation, Ethos Token Ltd, nor the DevCo has borrowed against issued or unissued tokens, and no token-secured lines exist. For clarity, the token loans to market makers disclosed in Section 12 are loans of $WHUF made by the Foundation (100,000 WHUF each, unsecured, returnable at term end or repayable in stablecoin at the agreed option price), not borrowings by any Ethos entity.
Resource Disclosures
Prior Token Sales & Fundraising
Disclose all prior token sales by the Project — including fundraising rounds, any material OTC sales to investors, and any discounted market-maker sales. For each sale, provide:
- (a) Series Name;
- (b) Early-Stage Investment Instrument used (i.e. SAFT, STAMP, SAFE, SAFE+Token Warrant, etc.);
- (c) Date of sale (at least month & year);
- (d) Number of tokens sold (or % of total supply);
- (e) Vesting schedule.
If no prior sales occurred, state that explicitly (e.g., "No prior fundraising, OTC, or discounted MM sales have occurred.").
Series Name | Investment Instrument | Date Of Sale | Number of tokens sold | Vesting Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-seed | SAFE (US$10M valuation cap) in Ethos Network, Inc. with pro-rata early supporter token grant; approx. US$2.3M raised across 61 SAFEs | April 2024 | 800,000 WHUF (8% of total supply) | Fully vested (no service conditions); locked at TGE, 25% unlocks at a 6-month cliff, remaining 75% linear monthly over 18 months |
Seed | SAFE (US$30M valuation cap) in Ethos Network, Inc. with pro-rata early supporter token grant, conducted via Echo; approx. US$2M raised across 11 SAFEs | May 2025 | 306,000 WHUF (3.06% of total supply) | Fully vested (no service conditions); locked at TGE, 25% unlocks at a 6-month cliff, remaining 75% linear monthly over 18 months |
Public token sale | Direct token sale (English auction, uniform clearing price) via Sonar, conducted by Ethos Token Ltd under Token Sale Terms & Conditions with a contractual 85% price guarantee. No OTC or discounted market-maker sales have occurred. | September 2026 (Sep 1-4) | 2,000,000 WHUF (20% of total supply); US$8.4M at US$4.20/token (US$42M FDV); 1,404 wallets | No vesting; locked at TGE (Sep 8 2026), fully transferable Oct 8 2026 |
Operational Funding, Economic Flows, and Resource Provisioning
Provide a narrative description of the Project's material funding sources, economic flows, and operational provisioning, broken out by entity: Foundation, Lab/DevCo, and DAO. If an entity does not exist, state that explicitly.
- (a) Entity existence — Explicitly state whether each of Foundation, Lab/DevCo, and DAO exists.
- (b) Material sources of funding or economic inflows — For each existing entity, describe its primary sources of operational funding or economic inflows, if any (e.g., service fees, grants, donations, treasury reserves, token reserves, staking rewards, validator/sequencer income, partnership payments, retained revenue, or other protocol-related receipts).
- (c) Operational use of resources — For each existing entity, briefly describe how those resources are generally used (e.g., development, operations, security, ecosystem support, grants, liquidity support).
- (d) Onchain Resource Usage — For each existing entity, provide links to public dashboards and token holder relations reports that help explain on-chain financial activity, treasury activity, fee flows, rewards, or other protocol-controlled resources. Make certain to explain what each link is for.
(a) Entity existence
Foundation: exists (Ethos Foundation, a Cayman Islands foundation company, with its wholly owned subsidiary Ethos Token Ltd, BVI). Lab/DevCo: exists (Ethos Network, Inc., a Delaware corporation). DAO: does not exist.
(b) Material sources of funding or economic inflows
Foundation / Ethos Token Ltd: (1) proceeds of the September 2026 public token sale, US$8.4M in USDC, held by Ethos Token Ltd under a board-approved treasury policy; (2) token reserves - the Treasury (10%), Ecosystem Development (5%) and Bounties (5%) allocations, released per the schedules in Section 7. The Foundation receives no protocol fees (100% are burned), no staking or validator income, and no partnership payments. DevCo (Ethos Network, Inc.): (1) equity financing - approximately US$4.3M raised across a pre-seed round (April 2024) and a seed round (May 2025); (2) service fees from the Foundation under the Master Services Agreement and SOW No. 1 (documented cost base plus a 10% service margin, invoiced quarterly in arrears). The DevCo holds no token reserves as an entity and receives no protocol revenue. DAO: does not exist.
(c) Operational use of resources
Foundation / Ethos Token Ltd: reserves backing the sale price guarantee owed to participants; funding protocol development, operation and maintenance through the DevCo services agreement; security audits, legal, regulatory and compliance costs; market-making and liquidity support (token loans from the Treasury liquidity allocation); and ecosystem grants and bounties from their dedicated allocations. DevCo: engineering, product, design and operations personnel; infrastructure and tooling; go-to-market. No resources fund token buybacks or distributions to equityholders. DAO: does not exist.
(d) Onchain Resource Usage
Foundation / Ethos Token Ltd (all on Base):
- $WHUF token contract, total supply and holder distribution: https://basescan.org/token/0xeeee77bC7e82c0d4166d52F58239D4c5Bf41eeee
- - Treasury Safe (10% allocation; source of the market-maker loans): https://basescan.org/address/0x26A866D3d3902b1df131ffc65eA8e8B972D61262
- - Ecosystem Development Safe (5%): https://basescan.org/address/0xB53422dC4A4B96CC26c15AceCCB03A326Aca8532
- - Bounties Safe (5%): https://basescan.org/address/0xb604624B6570204a3B1b6EE36A0A3b434F393A02
- - Team allocation Safe (monthly releases from Sep 2027): https://basescan.org/address/0x0783Ee333a8605aAc39c5f523BB2474B2A1c5525
- - Early Supporters Safe (monthly releases from Mar 2027): https://basescan.org/address/0x41fcF710ebeC93163CE862D40b2Ea57DDe0c76ae
- - EthosRewards contract (contributor rewards emissions): https://basescan.org/address/0xC7994A22318eCEb08767FD21Cd8F4D4e8803548A
- - Foundation publications (audit report, policies, token documentation): https://ethos-foundation.org
- Each Safe's on-chain transaction history shows every release and loan delivery; protocol fees are burned by contract and visible as burns on the token page.
DevCo (Ethos Network, Inc.): the DevCo has no on-chain treasury, holds no protocol-controlled resources, and publishes no token holder relations reports; its public protocol interface is https://app.ethos.network (vouches, reviews, scores, reputation markets) and its documentation is at https://whitepaper.ethos.network. There are no other applicable on-chain resources for the DevCo.
DAO: does not exist.
Previous Exploits Affecting The Native Token
If any, list prior exploits or incidents that directly affected the token, token supply, tokenholder balances, token contract, minting controls, burn mechanics, or custody of token supply. This question is not asking about general protocol, application, or smart contract exploits unless the incident directly affected the native token itself. If no prior incidents, state this explicitly (e.g., "No exploits affecting tokenholders or protocol funds as of YYYY-MM-DD").
- (a) Date & component affected — Date (YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD), chain(s)/component affected.
- (b) Exploit vector summary — Plain-language summary of the exploit vector (what the hack was).
- (c) Quantified impact — Quantified impact (assets/tokens affected or a clear "no loss of funds" statement).
- (d) Remediation/response taken — Remediation/response taken (patches, upgrades, governance actions, compensation).
- (e) Current status — Current status (resolved, in litigation, under investigation, refunded, etc.).
- (f) References — Link(s) to post-mortem/advisory/PR.
(a) Date & component affected
No exploits affecting tokenholders or protocol funds as of 2026-09-18. No incident has ever affected the token, token supply, tokenholder balances, the token contract, minting controls, burn mechanics, or custody of token supply on any chain. Security history: the protocol contracts passed three Sherlock audit competitions (Ethos 1, Social Contracts, November 2024; Ethos 2, Financial Contracts, December 2024; Ethos 3, Reputation Market, December 2024); all subsequent contract upgrades were audited by Sherlock; the upgraded protocol contracts and the $WHUF token contract were audited by Guardian (final report July 9, 2026: 0 Critical, 0 High, 5 Medium - 3 resolved, 2 acknowledged); and an ongoing bug bounty program is in place.
(b) Exploit vector summary
No exploits or incidents affecting the native token have occurred as of 2026-09-18; there is no exploit vector to summarize.
(c) Quantified impact
No loss of funds has ever occurred. No exploits or incidents affecting tokenholders or protocol funds have occurred as of 2026-09-18.
(d) Remediation/response taken
No exploits or incidents affecting the native token, tokenholders, or protocol funds have occurred as of 2026-09-18, so no remediation or response has been required.
(e) Current status
Not applicable: no exploits or incidents affecting the native token, tokenholders, or protocol funds have occurred as of 2026-09-18, so there is no incident status to report.
(f) References
No incident post-mortems, advisories, or PR exist because no exploits or incidents affecting the native token have occurred as of 2026-09-18. Audit references: https://github.com/sherlock-audit/2024-10-ethos-network-judging (Ethos 1, Social Contracts); https://github.com/sherlock-audit/2024-11-ethos-network-ii-judging (Ethos 2, Financial Contracts); https://github.com/sherlock-audit/2024-12-ethos-update-judging (Ethos 3, Reputation Market); Guardian audit of the upgraded protocol contracts and $WHUF token: https://ethos-foundation.org/audit/2026-07-09.pdf
[Optional] Offchain Foundation Or DevCo Income Statement
Provide a single income statement, expense summary, or comparable operating statement for the primary Foundation or Developer Company. A consolidated or entity-level presentation is acceptable. Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows may be included but are not required. This item is intended to provide transparency into offchain operating resources and expenditures only.
This Token Transparency Filing is provided for general informational purposes only. Blockworks reviews completeness only and does not verify or warrant the accuracy of individual answers. Ethos is solely responsible for the content, accuracy, and legality of its disclosures.