
Waves Community Token (WCT) was a utility token issued on the Waves blockchain in early 2017 as part of the initial framework supporting governance and community involvement within the Waves ecosystem. It was created and distributed by the Waves Platform team, not as an independent project but as a built-in component of the network's early token structure. WCT was non-mineable, issued with a fixed supply of 10 million units, and operated exclusively on the Waves infrastructure.
The token was distributed monthly to WAVES holders from January to September 2017, with an initial 20% airdropped and the remaining 80% released in equal monthly portions. Eligibility for these airdrops required users to hold WAVES in personal wallets, excluding balances on centralised exchanges. This design encouraged network decentralisation and increased participation in the platform’s leasing-based Proof-of-Stake (LPoS) mechanism.
By late 2022 and early 2023, WCT became obsolete and was replaced by the $POWER token under the Power DAO governance structure introduced by the Waves team. As of 2025, WCT is no longer active, with no trading volume or functional role in the Waves ecosystem.
WCT was designed to support several targeted roles within the Waves Platform:
These combined roles made WCT a multi-purpose token focused on reinforcing network participation, decentralised governance, and curated growth of the ecosystem.
WCT was created by the Waves Platform core development team, led by Sasha Ivanov, the founder and CEO of the platform. Ivanov played a central role in the token’s design and implementation, aligning its functions with the strategic direction of Waves during its formative years.
The decision to issue WCT as an integral governance and engagement token reflected the team’s broader design choices, which also included the issuance of WAVES as the base asset and MRT (Miners Reward Token) as a reward token for node operators.
WCT's role and utility were directly shaped by the platform’s evolution. In 2023, Ivanov publicly confirmed that WCT's governance functions had been superseded by the new Power DAO model and its associated token, $POWER. This marked the formal deprecation of WCT, concluding its active involvement in the platform’s governance and community frameworks.
Although 'WCT' was the ticker assigned at the deployment of the Waves Community Token's smart contract, it is also in use by another asset with a larger market presence and higher trading volume on major exchanges. To avoid confusion in the marketplace, the alternative ticker 'WAVESCOMM' has been adopted for this token. This designation ensures that assets are distinctly identified.