About Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH)

 FORTH is the native governance token of Ampleforth, which is a protocol for a stable value asset, AMPL.

In terms of functionality, FORTH allows token holders to dictate parameter changes to the protocol, direct liquidity mining emissions and manage treasury assets.

Per documentation, all FORTH token holders possess the ability to propose a new change/alteration to the protocol. A six-step process – beginning with a forum based discussion and formal proposal and ending with a binding on-chain vote – ultimately dictates whether or not the proposal will pass. 

FORTH confers voting rights within the Forth DAO, “a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated solely to the growth and adoption of AMPL,” the protocol’s documentation explained. FORTH holders are also able to delegate their tokens to a representative who casts votes on their behalf. The DAO serves as the means through which treasury assets are managed and works to control the emission of new FORTH tokens.

New FORTH tokens are emitted annually at a maximum inflationary rate of 2% per year. According to documentation, existing token holders can vote to mint the full amount, a fraction, or to skip the scheduled emission entirely.

Both FORTH and the FORTH DAO were created with the intention of supporting Ampleforth and its native unit of account AMPL. A stable value asset, AMPL’s price targets that of the CPI-adjusted 2019 USD.

AMPL is algorithmically backed, meaning its supply automatically adjusts to new changes in demand. In times when AMPL is trading above its intended price target, Ampleforth proportionally increases the quantity of AMPL tokens in each user’s wallet, gradually bringing down price. In times when AMPL is trading below its price target, the protocol reverses the process (i.e., proportionally decreases the number of AMPL in each user’s wallet) in a bid to raise the token’s price.

As of July 2022, Ampleforth is integrated with a series of leading layer-1 blockchain networks including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Avalanche.

When was FORTH created and how much was it worth?

Ampleforth was created by founder and current CEO Evan Kuo in February of 2018. Prior to his foray into the digital asset space,Kuo served as CEO of Pythagoras Pizza, a San Francisco-based pizza delivery service.

Kuo was assisted in development by fellow co-founder Brendan Iles, a software engineer with prior experience at Google and Uber.

Ampleforth launched their native FORTH governance token in April 2021. Roughly 15 million tokens were set aside to be claimed by eligible community members who previously interacted with the protocol as well as Ampleforth’s early backers.

Pricing data from Coingecko shows FORTH initially began changing hands around $55, before skyrocketing to a record high of $180.47 within 48 hours of launch. A period of heavy downside volatility subsequently ensued which saw the token lose more than 70% of its value over the late spring/early summer of 2021. FORTH’s price has been subjected to volatility and downward pressure ever since. To date, Ampleforth has been able to procure of $9.8 million in funds from a series of leading VCs and investors including True Ventures and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Crunchbase said.

How is the price of FORTH determined?

FORTH is an inflationary token with no hard cap. According to documentation, supply can increase up to 2% per year as dictated by FORTH token holders. Upon the tokens initial launch, some 15 million tokens were set aside to be claimed by community members who had previously interacted with the protocol as well as Ampleforth’s early backers.

Of this 15 million, 67% was distributed to the Ampleforth community and the remaining third distributed to early backers.

As of July 2022, there were 8.66 million FORTH tokens in circulation.

Why does FORTH has value?

Ampleforth is actively pioneering innovations in DeFi. The protocol’s AMPL token provides a strong unit of account that backed by both the Forth DAO and its army of FORTH token holders. Given FORTH’s role in facilitating governance, the voting rights conferred by the token could theoretically grow in worth as network usage increases.

Is FORTH secure?

FORTH is an ERC-20 token, backed by Ethereum. The ledger while infamously not too scalable is quite well known for robust security.

What are the main benefits of FORTH?

• FORTH allows its holders to govern the Ampleforth Protocol.
• FORTH confers voting rights in the Forth DAO which controls new token emissions. FORTH holders also have a say in how the DAO’s treasury assets are managed.
• Any FORTH token holder can propose a new change/addition to the protocol. All proposals go through a six-step process before they are ultimately passed (or rejected).

What do critics say about FORTH?

According to CoinTelegraph, FORTH’s sister token AMPL has been successful in maintaining its price target; however, the token has been prone to volatility, reflecting supply dynamics and, by extension, and not in a positive way, the FORTH community.