Supply change procedure: what the decision maker looks at
A supply change — minting extra units, burning part of the float, or moving the cap on total issuance — never happens as a single click. It runs through an internal approval chain, a disclosure step, and a confirmation from the trading venue before the new figure becomes binding. The decision maker checks three things: was the change disclosed in the original terms, did holders get a real window to react, and did the venue confirm the number before trading resumed.
What changes once the request is filed
Filing a supply change proposal starts a clock. Before filing, the current supply figure stays binding on every listing, every custody record and every counterparty agreement that references it. Once filed, two things move in parallel: the issuer's governance body reviews the proposal against the original issuance terms, and the trading venue places a provisional flag on the ticker so that new orders reflect the pending change.
The practical consequence is a short freeze on anything that assumes a fixed supply. Lending arrangements, staking pools and any smart contract that reads total supply as an input should pause new commitments until the change is confirmed. This is the point most teams underestimate: the freeze is not formal, but skipping it produces mismatched balances that are expensive to reconcile later.
What to do
- Draft the change proposal and route it to the issuer's governance body — this is the owner of record for any supply decision.
- Notify the trading venue's listing team in writing, stating the current figure, the target figure and the reason for the change.
- Publish the disclosure to holders through the same channel used for the original issuance terms.
- Open a holder objection window and log every response received, including silence.
- Submit the execution instruction to the custody or smart-contract operator only after the objection window closes.
- Confirm the new figure with the trading venue before any order resumes on the updated supply.
Who decides
| Stage | Decision maker | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal review | Issuer's governance body | 1–2 weeks |
| Venue notification | Trading venue's listing team | 3–5 business days |
| Holder disclosure and objection window | Issuer, monitored by the venue | 2–4 weeks, set in the original terms |
| Execution | Custody or smart-contract operator | Same day, once instructed |
| Final confirmation | Trading venue's listing team | 1 business day |
Two scenarios
If the change reduces supply through a burn, the objection window still applies, because holders lose proportional claim value even without a new obligation being created. The venue will not lift the trading flag until the burn transaction is confirmed on-chain and matched against the disclosed figure.
If the change increases supply through additional minting, the venue typically asks for a short delay after execution before resuming full order size, to let market makers adjust their books. Skipping this delay is the most common cause of a mispriced open.
If holders raise a formal objection during the window, the proposal returns to the issuer's governance body for a second review. This second review has no fixed deadline in most internal charters, which is the main reason objected proposals take longer than the table above suggests.
What this page does not cover
This page describes the internal and venue-side procedure. It does not assess whether a specific change is lawful under the rules that apply to your entity, and it does not tell you what to do if the counterparty on the other side of a related contract stops responding entirely — that situation is covered separately, and our counterparty report before extending credit walks through the deadline that matters in that case.
It also does not cover how to check whether a document referenced in the disclosure is genuine or current. If the paperwork behind the change originates in Lithuania, the relevant checks are described in document in Lithuania. If the entity issuing the change is registered in Estonia, the applicable checks sit under jurisdiction in Estonia.
If you are named in a report in practice as part of this procedure, you can ask how your data was used before the disclosure step closes.
Related reading
The listing-side counterpart to this procedure, covering how a secondary market arrangement is set up rather than changed, is described in secondary market arrangement step by step.
Verified
Checked against our internal procedural register on the date of publication. This page describes process only; it does not cite external legal sources because the underlying national rules are not yet mapped in our registry for this topic.
FAQ
How long does supply change procedure take in practice?
Four to seven weeks from filing to final confirmation, if no objection is raised. An objection adds an unpredictable second review.
Which documents are needed to start?
The original issuance terms, the proposed new figure with reasoning, and written confirmation from the custody or smart-contract operator that execution is technically ready.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
Silence during the objection window is logged and treated as no objection. The proposal proceeds to execution once the window closes, regardless of response.