Onyxcoin (XCN) is a token originally issued as CHN, an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum distributed to users of Chain Inc.'s Sequence platform, then renamed XCN in March 2022.
Its associated protocol was renamed from Chain Protocol to Onyx Protocol, governed by Onyx DAO, in January 2023. Onyx Protocol is a lending protocol built as a fork of Compound v2. XCN also serves as the native gas and staking asset on Onyx Mainnet, the project's own EVM-compatible chain, connected to the Ethereum ERC-20 token via a bidirectional bridge. Bridged XCN also exists on Base and BNB Smart Chain.
Onyxcoin's differentiation lies in operating as both an Ethereum-based governance/staking token and the native gas asset of its own EVM-compatible chain, Onyx Mainnet, linked via a bidirectional bridge.
Few comparable governance tokens also secure a proprietary base-layer chain aimed at institutional and interbank connectivity, an effort branded Onyx Mesh. The 2026 "Goliath" upgrade further positions the chain toward bridging regulated financial institutions with decentralized finance.
XCN functions as both a governance token and a utility token.
Holders stake XCN to gain voting power in Onyx DAO governance, with staked XCN representable as sXCN, a liquid staking token that accrues yield. On Onyx Mainnet, XCN is used as the native gas asset for transaction fees. Within Onyx Protocol, a Compound v2 fork lending market, XCN can also be supplied or used as loan collateral alongside other assets.
Maximum supply is approximately 68.89 billion XCN, with total supply near 53.4 billion and circulating supply near 39.3 billion XCN as of 2026-09-01.
Daily supply growth has recently run near flat to slightly negative, indicating emission is not materially inflationary.
The token launched in 2019 as CHN, distributed retroactively to non-US users of Chain Inc.'s Sequence platform rather than sold via public ICO, then began trading on Bittrex Global.
This on-chain token launch came five years after Chain Inc.'s 2014 founding. Separately, Chain Inc. had raised approximately $43.7 million in private equity funding, including investment from Visa, Nasdaq, Citi Ventures, Capital One, Fiserv, and Orange alongside venture firms Khosla Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Thrive Capital — financing the company, not the token.
Onyxcoin (XCN) is issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and also functions as the native gas and staking asset of Onyx Mainnet, the project's own EVM-compatible blockchain.
Onyx Mainnet is linked to the Ethereum ERC-20 contract via a bidirectional bridge, and a 2026 upgrade to this chain is branded "Goliath." Bridged representations of XCN also exist on Base and BNB Smart Chain, though these are not the canonical asset.
Onyxcoin traces to Chain, a blockchain infrastructure company founded in San Francisco in 2014 by Adam Ludwin and Devon Gundry.
Chain Inc. was acquired by Interstellar/Lightyear, a Stellar-affiliated entity, in 2018 for a reported ~$500 million stock deal. A 2026 Onyx blog post referencing new hires for community and business-development roles indicates an active operating team exists today.
The token and protocol are maintained by Onyx DAO, a decentralized governance body.
The project's public presence operates through onyx.org, chain.com, and docs.onyx.org, with smart-contract code hosted on GitHub under the Onyx-Protocol organization. The original enterprise creator, Chain Inc., is a separate corporate lineage acquired by Interstellar/Lightyear in 2018.
Onyxcoin is governed on-chain by Onyx DAO, where staked XCN grants voting power.
A recent proposal, OIP 55, led to deployment of sXCN, a liquid staking token representing staked XCN that automatically accrues staking yield.
Onyx Protocol's smart contracts were audited by CertiK in January 2022, which flagged a rounding/empty-market vulnerability that the team did not fully remediate.
That unresolved vulnerability class was exploited around November 1, 2023 for approximately $2.1 million, followed by a related exploit totaling approximately $3.8 million draining VUSD, XCN, DAI, WBTC, and USDT; a separate flaw in the NFTLiquidation contract was also identified. On-chain concentration is high: the top 10 holders control 74% of supply. DEX-based liquidity relative to market cap is thin, though XCN also trades on centralized exchanges.