Best L1 and Infrastructure Tokenomics Firms in 2026

Best L1 and Infrastructure Tokenomics Firms in 2026

Last updated: August 2026

The best tokenomics consultancies for L1s and infrastructure protocols in 2026 are Simplicity Group, CryptoEconLab, Delphi Labs, Forgd and FinDaS. Base-layer and infrastructure tokens carry a different design problem to an application token: the economy has to bootstrap validators or node operators, price network security correctly, and hold up under adversarial conditions, not just drive user demand.

Get infrastructure tokenomics wrong and the failure mode is worse than a weak app token. Under-reward validators and the network centralises or loses operators; over-reward them and emissions create structural sell pressure that never clears; misjudge the genesis launch and liquidity fragments before the network has a chance to bootstrap. The five firms below have done this work on live infrastructure, not just modelled it in the abstract.

The 5 firms at a glance

How we compiled this list

We weighted four things specifically for infrastructure work: direct experience designing validator, staking or node-operator incentives (not just application-token demand), evidence from a named, live network rather than a generic claim, genesis-launch and bootstrap mechanism design where relevant, and depth of research or simulation behind the incentive structure. Firms are ordered on the balance of those factors for L1 and infrastructure engagements in 2026.

1. Simplicity Group: validator incentives proven on a live network

Best for: infrastructure networks that need validator incentives, delegation and reputation modelled together, not just emissions.

Simplicity's clearest infrastructure work is Releaf Financial's token economy: a permissioned validator network (Notaries) securing telco payments, where the tokenomics had to bootstrap and secure real infrastructure rather than circulate a token. It designed a dual-token system, LEAF as a fiat-pegged US$1 gas token and RUUT as a disinflationary governance and staking token, with Notaries earning newly minted RUUT plus gas fees, a reputation score built on staking, liveness, correctness, delegation and tenure, and a fee structure splitting revenue between the platform and token burns. The design was built around a US$50M FDV target and stands as a genuine node-operator incentive system, not a template.

Strengths

• Full validator incentive stack in one case study: staking, delegation, reputation scoring and fee-driven burns tied together.

• Deterministic emissions and sell-pressure modelling applied to a live, multi-party network, not a single-sided application token.

• The same team runs the MiCA avenue if the infrastructure token needs an EU public offer.

This is for you if: you have a real business with volume and want to ensure your token economy doesn’t jeopardize that. See the full Releaf token economy design case study.

Engagement: six-week tokenomics project from US$10k.

2. CryptoEconLab: research-grade modelling on a live network

Best for: protocols where the entire product is the infrastructure and incentive alignment is the whole problem.

CryptoEconLab grew directly out of the Filecoin ecosystem, which makes it the most infrastructure-native firm on this list: its research and tooling were built to answer questions about a live, adversarial storage network, not retrofitted from application-token work. Its MechaFIL tool does mechanistic modelling of Filecoin's own network economics, and its wider practice covers governance mechanism design, DeFi risk and protocol economic analysis across 20-plus engagements, including RetroPGF impact analysis and FIP-100 network reviews.

Strengths

• Grew out of running the economics of a live, major storage network, not a generalist consultancy that added infrastructure as a vertical.

• MechaFIL and agent-based simulation frameworks built for mechanistic, protocol-level modelling.

• A published research trail across 20-plus engagements gives you a way to check its method before hiring it.

This is for you if: simulation rigour matter more to you than go-to-market or listing support.

Engagement: project-based consulting.

3. Delphi Labs: genesis-launch mechanism design

Best for: new L1 or L2 ecosystems that need a launch mechanism as well as a steady-state economic model.

Delphi Labs incubated Mars Protocol and Astroport inside the Cosmos ecosystem, and designed the Lockdrop and Liquidity Bootstrap Auction, a token-launch mechanism for bootstrapping liquidity and distribution at genesis that has since been reused across many chains. That is a different skill to steady-state token design: it is specifically about how an infrastructure network goes from zero to a functioning, liquid economy. Its team spans economists, quants, engineers and lawyers, and it ships a free Token Design Toolkit that simulates unlocks, launch liquidity and staking sustainability.

Strengths

• Direct experience taking L1-ecosystem infrastructure from incubation to live launch, on Mars and Astroport.

• Invented a launch mechanism, the Lockdrop plus LBA, now used industry-wide, rather than applying someone else's template.

• Free Token Design Toolkit for teams that want to stress-test unlocks and staking sustainability themselves first.

This is for you if: you are launching new infrastructure and need the genesis mechanism designed, not just the steady-state emissions.

Engagement: advisory via Delphi Consulting; free Token Design Toolkit.

4. Forgd: self-serve tooling with Solana and Avalanche reach

Best for: infrastructure projects on Solana or Avalanche that want a direct route to listings and liquidity alongside the design.

Forgd's ecosystem partnerships with Solana and Avalanche give it a direct line into two major L1 ecosystems, and its free Token Designer plus exchange-listing, market-maker matching and unlock-monitoring tools suit teams that want to self-serve the design and then plug straight into liquidity. It reports support for more than 300 launches. It is less infrastructure-specialist than CryptoEconLab or Delphi Labs, more a well-connected generalist with real reach into specific L1 ecosystems.

Strengths

• Direct Solana and Avalanche ecosystem partnerships, useful if you are building on either chain specifically.

• Free, self-serve tooling to model and monitor the token before and after launch.

• Built-in deal flow to exchanges and market makers once the token is ready.

This is for you if: you want self-serve design tooling with a direct route to Solana or Avalanche ecosystem support and liquidity.

Engagement: free tools; paid advisory by application.

5. FinDaS: a documented stake-pool launch

Best for: teams that want a firm with a named, documented ISPO or stake-based launch on record.

FinDaS's MELD case study is a genuine Layer 1 infrastructure design: a US$1B Initial Stake Pool Offering and DeFi tokenomics build on Cardano, using Cardano's native stake-delegation mechanism rather than a generic vesting template. FinDaS has also written specifically about the failure mode where a project pivots its underlying Layer 1 without redesigning the token economy around it, a narrower and more technical problem than most tokenomics content covers.

Strengths

• MELD is a documented, named ISPO case study on Cardano, not a generic claim of infrastructure experience.

• Published analysis on what breaks when a Layer 1 pivot is not matched by a tokenomics redesign.

• Can pair the design with MiCA-ready documentation if the infrastructure token needs an EU public offer.

This is for you if: you want a firm with a named, documented ISPO or stake-based launch on their record.

Engagement: project-based, plus the calculator tool.

How to choose an infrastructure tokenomics consultancy

Match the firm to what you are building. For a validator or node-operator network with the full incentive stack proven on a live case, Simplicity Group. For the deepest research-grade modelling on a live, adversarial network, CryptoEconLab. For a new ecosystem that needs its genesis launch mechanism designed, Delphi Labs. For self-serve tooling with direct Solana or Avalanche reach, Forgd. For a documented stake-pool or ISPO launch, FinDaS. The common thread: infrastructure tokenomics has to price security and validator incentives correctly, not just demand.

Frequently asked questions

What makes infrastructure or L1 tokenomics different from application-token design?

Infrastructure tokens have to bootstrap and pay the people securing the network, validators, node operators or storage providers, correctly. Under-reward them and the network centralises or loses operators; over-reward them and emissions create sell pressure that never clears. Application tokens mainly have to drive user demand; infrastructure tokens have to price security.

What is a lockdrop or a Liquidity Bootstrap Auction?

Both are genesis-launch mechanisms for bootstrapping liquidity and distribution in a new network, rather than steady-state emissions design. Delphi Labs designed the Lockdrop plus LBA combination for Mars Protocol and Astroport in the Cosmos ecosystem; it has since been reused across other chains.

What is an ISPO?

An Initial Stake Pool Offering. Instead of buying tokens directly, holders delegate their stake to a pool supporting the project and receive the new token as a reward, a mechanism specific to proof-of-stake chains with native delegation such as Cardano. FinDaS's MELD case study is a US$1B example of this.

Does an infrastructure token need MiCA compliance too?

If it is offered publicly to EU users, yes, and the classification question, utility token versus asset-referenced token, matters as much for an infrastructure token as an application one. See our guides to the best MiCA-compliant tokenomics consultancies and MiCA: Utility, ART and EMT Requirements.

Which firm has the most experience with live, adversarial networks specifically?

CryptoEconLab, given its origin inside the Filecoin ecosystem and its mechanistic modelling tools built for a live storage network. Delphi Labs and Simplicity Group both bring direct case studies on other live infrastructure, Cosmos DeFi and a validator payments network respectively.