TLDR:
- Babylon Foundation announced plans to airdrop 600 million BABY tokens (6% of 10B total supply) to early supporters
- Largest allocation (335M tokens) goes to Base Phase-1 Bitcoin stakers, with additional rewards for Phase-2 transitions
- Protocol enables direct Bitcoin staking without intermediaries, currently holding $4.26 billion in Total Value Locked
- BABY token will serve as governance token for Babylon Genesis Network with dual staking model for both BTC and BABY
- Babylon previously raised $70 million to make Bitcoin the “backbone of proof-of-stake systems”
The Babylon Foundation, the entity behind the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon, has released tokenomic details for its BABY token. The announcement on Thursday included plans for an airdrop targeting early users of the protocol.
The Foundation will distribute 6% of the total 10 billion BABY token supply to early supporters. This amounts to 600 million tokens set aside for the airdrop campaign.
The largest portion of the airdrop, 335 million BABY tokens, will go to users who participated in Babylon’s Base Phase-1 staking. This refers to users who locked up their native Bitcoin tokens via the Babylon protocol across multiple instances called “caps.”
Another 200 million BABY tokens are earmarked for users who transition their Phase-1 stakes to Phase-2. Pioneer Pass NFT holders will receive 30 million tokens, while 5 million tokens are allocated for GitHub contributors.
Announcing the details of the Babylon Early Adopters Airdrop. 600M BABY (6% of total supply) will be distributed to Phase 1 stakers, Finality Providers, Pioneer Pass holders, and GitHub contributors. No claim process — just rewards. Full details 👇https://t.co/iXdvFEBJxW 🧵 pic.twitter.com/vslOaNwCXN
— Babylon Foundation (@bbn_foundation) April 3, 2025
How Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking Works
Babylon enables Bitcoin holders to stake their assets directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This is done through Bitcoin’s unspent transaction output (UTXO) model.
The protocol lets users maintain custody of their Bitcoin while participating in the security of proof-of-stake chains. Users don’t need intermediaries or token wrapping to participate.
Babylon Genesis is described as a layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain secured by Bitcoin. This means it uses Bitcoin staking to secure and provide liquidity to the network.
The network will implement a “dual-staking” model. This allows users to stake both BTC and BABY tokens within the ecosystem.
As of April 3, 2025, Babylon’s total value locked (TVL) stands at $4.26 billion according to data from DeFiLlama. The protocol has confirmed user deposits of over 51,906 BTC.
Token Economics and Distribution
BABY will serve as the native token for the Babylon Genesis Network. It will handle governance, transaction fees, and network security functions.
The initial supply is capped at 10 billion tokens. Both Bitcoin and BABY stakers will receive 4% annual inflation rewards in BABY tokens.
Beyond the 6% allocated for the airdrop, the token distribution includes community rewards (15%), ecosystem development (18%), and research and development (18%). Early investors will receive 30.5%, the team 15%, and advisors 3.5%.
The token distribution includes multi-year vesting schedules. Early investors must wait one year for 12.5% of their allocation. The remainder vests linearly over three years.
Team tokens vest over four years with a one-year cliff. Advisor allocations follow similar timelines.
Tokens allocated to ecosystem development and R&D will unlock in phases. Portions will be eligible for staking.
The BABY token was first revealed in February. Users were able to create and register a BABY address and connect it to their Bitcoin staking wallet.
At the launch of the Babylon Genesis Network, users will automatically receive their airdropped BABY tokens. Users who haven’t registered can still do so if they transition to Phase-2 staking.
The Babylon Foundation also plans additional social and wallet campaign airdrops for BABY. The exact timing of the airdrop hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Some exchanges have already launched pre-market futures listings for the token. OKX was among the first to offer these listings on Thursday.
Babylon previously raised more than $70 million in funding. Paradigm led the most recent round, with Hashkey Capital and Polychain Capital also participating. This followed an $18 million Series A round.
The protocol aims to make Bitcoin the “backbone of proof-of-stake systems.” Its goal is to enable the leading crypto asset to help secure proof-of-stake chains like Ethereum or Solana.
