Part 1 · The model in one paragraph

Credits are fuel. Envelopes are the token. You spend credits to run physics on the engine. Every compute mints a ZEQ envelope — an immutable, signed proof-of-compute receipt that carries value. The envelope is the framework's transferable token; credits never are. Value is created by using the engine, not by holding an account.

Part 2 · The two fuel pools

• Free credits — 1,287 on signup (the welcome package), then 777 per day by explicit claim (the button on this page and in your Vault). Use-it-or-lose-it: claiming refills you to 777 — never stacks, never reduces. Non-transferable, fuel only.
• Paid credits — purchased via subscription or swap. Fuel only, exactly like free credits: credits never move, free or paid.

Spending order: free credits first, then paid. The ZEQ envelope coin is the only transferable asset — your share of each envelope is held as coins, never blended into fuel.

Part 3 · The envelope mint — V = f(complexity)

Each compute mints one envelope of value V = round(cost × (2 − precision/0.001)) — between 1× and 2× the fuel spent. The compute cost already scales with operator count and cross-domain coupling; the precision term makes the KO42 ≤0.1% gate economically real: the closer your compute lands to perfect precision, the more the envelope is worth.

Part 4 · Who owns the envelope

• Paid-funded compute — 80% of the envelope's value mints to you, 20% to the Foundation.
• Free-funded compute — 100% mints to the Foundation. Free credits buy you results, not transferable value — nobody can farm the daily claim into wealth.
• Mixed funding splits proportionally; the Foundation absorbs rounding remainders.

Part 5 · What was retired (June 2026)

The old passive economy is gone: no per-Zeqond drip mint, no tier burn, no heartbeat burn, no burn-ratio redistribution. Balances move only when a compute or paid operation runs. If you read about a “98.713% burn” or a “daily 100 claim” anywhere, that page is stale — this one is canonical.

Part 6 · Sustainability

The Foundation is funded by 20% of every paid envelope and 100% of free-funded envelopes — proportional to real usage of the engine, not to inflation. Forks of the framework issue their own token under the same mechanics.

Part 7 · Reading this page

• Free credits — your claimable fuel pool (immovable).
• Paid credits — purchased fuel (immovable).
• ZEQ envelope coins — your transferable coins, one per envelope you hold. The ONLY thing that can be sent.
• Activity — every claim, fuel spend and coin mint, with the source action.

Part 8 · Connected views

• Your Vault — identity, keys, credits at a glance
• Transparency Oracle — network-wide supply state
• SDK · ZEQ economy docs
• Pricing & subscription