# Overview

The QI token is native to Avalanche and is at the core of the entire BENQI ecosystem.  **A core use case is staking QI to receive BENQI Miles (formerly veQI).** 

BENQI Miles can then be used for purposes such as:

* Directing AVAX delegations to validators, and
* governance

QI can also be used for yield (e.g. as collateral) and provides discounts for services such as launching a PAYG validator. 

Furthermore, holders of BENQI Miles can engage in [Node Voting](https://app.gitbook.com/o/-MVjIfedJgGlCPfTx3QP/s/-MViz_ikDZy4OemUj_VI/~/changes/358/node-voting/governance), whereby they can allocate their votes to support specific Avalanche validators, influencing how AVAX is delegated from BENQI’s Liquid Staking Pool.

## Gradual Decentralization

The founding team currently governs the protocol. As BENQI matures, the protocol will progressively be decentralized and eventually be governed by a DAO consisting of QI token holders and governance structures both on-chain & off-chain.

BENQI Miles will be used to vote on all aspects of BENQI. To begin, it has been applied to Node Voting, covered in [node-voting](https://docs.benqi.fi/node-voting "mention")

**The total supply of QI is 7,200,000,000 tokens.** 

We provide a full breakdown of the supply in the [token-distribution](https://docs.benqi.fi/benqinomics/token-distribution "mention") section.

## BENQI Miles

By staking QI, users receive BENQI Miles, formally known as veQI.

BENQI Miles can be used to vote in governance decisions, with the initial focus on **Node Voting** to support Avalanche validators.

All users begin with a BENQI Miles balance of zero. When QI is staked, Miles accrue linearly over time to 100 times the QI staked (eg: 1 QI = 100veQI). 

**The accrual rate is 0.000003888888888 Miles per staked QI each second**, and this accrual is automatic so there is no need to claim it. For example, over the course of one day (86,400 seconds), a user would earn approximately **336 BENQI Miles** for each staked QI.

However, **unstaking** any amount of QI will reset the user's entire accumulated veQI balance to zero.

<details>

<summary>Example: How BENQI Miles Accrue Over Time</summary>

Let's say a user stakes **1,000 QI** in BENQI.

* **Accrual Rate**: Each staked QI earns **0.00000388888888 BENQI Miles per second**.
* **Calculation**:
  * Over the course of one day (86,400 seconds), this user would earn approximately **336 BENQI Miles** (0.00388888888 × 86,400)&#x20;
* **Accumulation Over Time**:
  * If the user keeps their 1,000 QI staked for **30 days**, they would accumulate **10,080 BENQI Miles**: (336 per day × 30 days)
* **Reset Condition**: If the user decides to unstake any amount of their QI during this period, their entire BENQI Miles balance would reset to **zero**. This incentivizes users to keep their QI staked for longer to maximize their Miles balance.

</details>

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