Mina's famous 22KB is a proof of the latest state, not a zip file containing every payment. Producers still need ledger state, archives keep history, and SNARK workers sell proof labor. That division made a small verifier possible—and made MINA an uncapped reward currency for the larger machine behind it.
Coda Protocol became Mina on 2020-09-29 after R3's trademark suit. Because mainnet launched later, on 2021-03-23, this was a project rename rather than a live-asset migration.
MINA is native currency, divisible into one billion nanomina. Same-name wrapped or exchange balances are representations, not a canonical EVM contract.
Each block commits to ledger state, and recursion folds validity into a small proof. A verifier can check the commitment and request Merkle paths for accounts it cares about.
A producer still holds full state to build witnesses, while an archive and Rosetta service preserve historical queries. The small object is a verification boundary, not deletion of history.
Block producers win slots through stake and choose transactions. For each transaction added, equivalent earlier work must be SNARKed or the block fails consensus rules.
Workers quote proof fees in the Snarketplace. Producers may prove locally or pay workers from transaction fees or coinbase. Succinct verification therefore rests on an explicit labor market.
The economics paper modeled one billion initial units. The Foundation’s later disclosure instead reports 805,385,694 MINA as Initial Distribution across community, contributors, backers, o1Labs and Foundation schedules. It defines Initial Supply as the subset present at genesis and includes later supercharged rewards in Initial Distribution. Neither the distribution total nor locked allocations can be read as an exact liquid genesis balance.
There is no cap. Policy began around 12% for locked accounts and aimed toward 7% steady state, subject to governance. Stakers can offset dilution; idle balances cannot assume proportional preservation.
Unlocked accounts outside o1Labs and Foundation originally received double block rewards to encourage early staking. MIP1 voters chose to remove that supercharge.
Berkeley completed in June 2024 and implemented MIP1 beside Kimchi proof upgrades and o1js programmability. Equalizing rewards reduced the special issuance path but did not create a fixed supply.
Berkeley lets TypeScript zkApps compute off-chain and send proofs for on-chain verification. It made zero-knowledge logic programmable without placing every private input on the ledger.
Privacy follows circuit design. A proof can conceal a witness while revealing selected claims; transaction metadata, public state and careless outputs can still disclose information.
MIPs collect proposals, review and votes. Berkeley also required dev teams to implement code, exchanges and operators to prepare, a downtime window and enough active stake to install the pre-upgrade release.
A ballot does not execute arbitrary code by itself. Release branches, protocol versions and coordinated adoption remain practical control points.
Mina Foundation is registered in Geneva as CHE-439.638.500. Its 2024 policy estimated roughly 10% voting power under Foundation control and placed delegation under a Board-appointed committee.
That transparency does not make every MINA holder a beneficiary or owner. Reviewed records grant network utility, not shares, Foundation reserves, dividends, fixed-value redemption or guaranteed maintenance.
The trademark dispute changes the pre-mainnet identity.
The earlier RC state graduates to public launch; the later Initial Distribution disclosure counts 805,385,694 MINA.
Community chooses to remove supercharged rewards.
Kimchi, o1js zkApps and MIP1 reach mainnet.
Last evidence review: 2026-09-05
Mina is a proof-of-stake layer 1 whose native MINA divides into nanomina; it has no EVM contract. Recursive zk-SNARKs let a verifier check a compact proof of a recent ledger commitment instead of replaying every block.
The network has distinct roles. Block producers stake or receive delegation, select transactions and publish blocks. SNARK workers prove queued transactions and quote fees. Archive services preserve history that the compact proof does not contain.
A conventional new verifier may need a growing block history before trusting current state. Mina recursively proves prior state transitions so the verification object remains roughly constant in size.
The shortcut moves work rather than abolishing it. Producers need state for witnesses, proof workers compute transaction SNARKs, and archive nodes serve historical queries. Calling the whole blockchain 22KB hides these dependencies.
Ouroboros Samasika-derived consensus chooses block producers by stake. A producer adding transactions must also include proof work for earlier queued transactions, produced locally or purchased from SNARK workers. Delegation gives staking weight without authority to spend the delegator's MINA, and the design does not use slashing as its producer incentive.
After Berkeley in June 2024, o1js programs can compute off-chain and submit proofs verified on-chain using Kimchi-era proof machinery. A circuit can hide inputs, but privacy is application-specific; public transactions and chosen outputs remain visible.
No. The compact object proves current state; producers and archive services still hold state and history.
No. MINA has no hard cap. The Foundation reported 805,385,694 MINA as Initial Distribution, a schedule spanning locked allocations and categories issued after genesis; it is not an exact liquid launch-supply balance.
No. Delegation assigns staking weight, not transaction authority.
The protocol economics design explicitly does not rely on slashing as the incentive.
The June 2024 fork activated o1js zkApps, Kimchi proof changes and removal of supercharged rewards.
No. A circuit can hide selected inputs, but its public inputs, outputs and ordinary chain activity may be visible.
No. MIPs and votes guide decisions; developers implement releases and operators coordinate hard-fork adoption.
Protocol functions do not create equity, Foundation-asset ownership, dividends or fixed redemption.
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