> Documentation index: https://docs.squeekchain.com/llms.txt. Use it to find every page.

# How SQK is issued

> How much SQK each completed Squeek block issues, how a block's SQK reaches power, and where the lifetime cap applies.

Web version: https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/creation/

## TL;DR

- Every completed Squeek block issues 6,900 SQK, and that amount never changes.
- Blocks issue up to 1.89 billion SQK; with the 210 million premine, total supply reaches the 2.1 billion cap in block 273,914.
- A block's SQK goes to the power active when the block completes; blocks completed while no power is active issue nothing.

## How much SQK does each block issue?

A checkpoint counts the Squeek blocks that completed since the previous one and issues 6,900 SQK for each. Blocks are counted from [block progress](https://docs.squeekchain.com/system/rounds-and-blocks.md), so progress carried over from earlier rounds counts toward the round that finally completes the block.

There are no halvings, multipliers, or per-block limits. Processing the same work in one checkpoint or several produces the same SQK.

## What limits total supply?

The lifetime cap is 2,100,000,000 SQK. The 210,000,000 SQK premine, minted at launch to the Hamster-Owned Liquidity, counts inside it, so blocks can issue 1,890,000,000 SQK. At 6,900 SQK per block, 273,913 blocks leave 300 SQK under the cap; block 273,914 issues those 300, and later blocks issue nothing.

How quickly SQK is issued depends on how quickly blocks complete, which follows the hamster's activity and the current [difficulty](https://docs.squeekchain.com/system/rounds-and-blocks.md). The reward per block, the premine, the cap, and the number of blocks to reach it are the launch values; the Sepolia testnet contracts issue 5,600 SQK per block and have no premine. They are not a sale promise or an earnings forecast.

## Which Squeeks share a block?

A block's SQK belongs to the Squeeks whose power is active when it completes. Progress toward an unfinished block carries forward, and the Squeeks active when that block completes share its SQK.

New power starts earning in the round after it is registered. A checkpoint processes earlier rounds with the old power first, and each stretch of rounds is paid to exactly the power active in it. [How mining works](https://docs.squeekchain.com/squeeks/overview.md) explains how each Squeek's share is calculated.

If no power is active when blocks complete, nothing is issued for them. Those blocks can't be claimed later.

## How SQK reaches owners

1. `SqueekCore` records settled work and completed Squeek blocks.
2. A [checkpoint](https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/checkpoints.md) counts the completed blocks, mints 6,900 SQK for each into `SqueekMining`, and credits every active Squeek with its share as unclaimed rewards.
3. The Squeek's current owner [claims](https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/claim.md) those rewards to a wallet.

The exact calculation and interfaces are in the [SqueekMining reference](https://docs.squeekchain.com/developers/mining.md#reward-calculation).

## Related pages

- [Rounds and Squeek blocks](https://docs.squeekchain.com/system/rounds-and-blocks.md)
- [How Squeeks earn](https://docs.squeekchain.com/squeeks/overview.md)
- [Checkpoints](https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/checkpoints.md)
- [Claiming rewards](https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/claim.md)
- [Supply limits and rounding](https://docs.squeekchain.com/rewards/supply-and-rounding.md)