The CRUSH Burn Has Begun: What That Actually Means

Something important just started happening with CRUSH. When shopping data you help contribute gets accessed and purchased, part of that value is used to take CRUSH tokens out of existence forever. Fewer tokens left in the world. That is the burn.

The rest comes back to the people who helped create that data, as a contributor payout. Your cut when the data gets used.

Here is the whole idea in plain English, with zero jargon required.

Why we built this

Legacy rewards apps (Ibotta, Fetch, Pogo, Receipt Pal, Receipt Hog, and the rest) are usually the same trap: points that expire, gift cards you may never use, and almost no visibility into what happens after a company takes your shopping data. You earn a little, it decays or locks into someone else's catalog, and the data trail goes dark. We broke down the numbers on that dissatisfaction in Loyalty Program Trends 2026: Why Programs Are Failing.

Crush is the opposite posture. Your contribution can keep earning when that data is accessed and paid for. Payouts are in CRUSH you own, not a balance that quietly expires. And we are aligned with you on purpose: when Crush gets paid for that data access, contributors get paid too. The burn and contributor payout loop is how we make that real: when the data has value, you share in it, on a public ledger you can check.

Picture a limited run of sneakers

Imagine a brand makes 1,000 pairs of sneakers. Then they shred 100 of them on purpose. Now only 900 exist. The remaining pairs did not magically change overnight, but the total supply got smaller.

A token burn is the same move. CRUSH gets permanently destroyed. It does not go into Crush's pocket. It does not sit in a vault waiting to come back. It is gone.

Companies do a version of this with stocks. They buy their own shares and retire them so fewer shares remain. That is a buyback. The CRUSH burn is closest to that part of the story: supply goes down when the product is actually useful to buyers.

The two-part loop

When data you contributed is accessed and purchased, two things happen:

1. Some CRUSH is burned forever, which reduces total supply
2. Some CRUSH is shared with contributors as a contributor payout

Think of it like a lemonade stand. You helped make the lemonade. Someone buys a pitcher. Most of what they paid goes to pouring some lemonade down the drain on purpose (weird lemonade, yes: that is the burn). The rest goes back to the kids who squeezed the lemons. That second part is the contributor payout.

One important note up front: a contributor payout is not a stock dividend, not an investment return, and not a security. CRUSH is a utility reward for contributing data, not a promise of profit. It is simply your cut when data you helped gather gets used and paid for.

About 75% of each settlement goes to the burn. About 25% is shared with the contributors whose data was in that batch. If that same data keeps getting used and purchased later, the loop can run again: more burn, more contributor payouts.

Why burn and pay people?

Paying contributors alone is good. You helped, you get paid. Burning alone is also useful: when the data marketplace works, supply tightens.

Doing both is the point.

• Contributor payouts reward the people who made the data possible
• Burns retire tokens when buyers show up for that data
• Together, useful activity both pays contributors and shrinks supply

The buyback comparison stops at the burn. We are not calling the payout a dividend, and we are not asking you to treat CRUSH like a stock. Different tools, same plain idea: when the data is valuable, contributors share in that value, and some tokens leave the supply for good.

How you plug into this today

Right now, the simplest way to contribute data that can feed this loop is the Crush browser extension.

1. Download the Crush app and create your account
2. Add the browser extension and sign in
3. Let it run price-check missions (once it's set up, there's little to babysit)

Those missions help collect ecommerce pricing data. Crush points the extension at public product pages that need a fresh price. Your browser checks them. You don't need to shop or hunt for pages yourself. When that data later gets accessed and purchased, it can feed the burn and contributor payout loop.

The extension is built to stay out of your personal browsing. It acts on the pages Crush asks it to check, not on a log of everywhere you go. Sensitive sites stay off-limits. More detail is in the extension launch post.

What is coming next

The same burn-and-payout idea expands as more contribution paths come online:

• Receipt data, always anonymous and aggregated. Your name is not sold with the grocery list. Patterns get useful. Individual identity stays out.
• Crush Shelf Scanning Missions, in-store photos of shelves and price tags while you shop. No purchase required for the shelf capture itself.

More real-world shopping signal means more chances for the loop to run. The rules stay the same: useful data gets bought, some CRUSH is burned, contributors can receive a payout.

What this is not

A few myths worth killing early:

• Crush is not deleting CRUSH from your wallet. The burn comes from the settlement side when data is purchased, not from draining your balance.
• You are not paying a fee to burn tokens. Buyers pay for useful data. The burn and payouts come from that value.
• This is not a stock dividend, yield product, or investment scheme. Contributor payouts are rewards for helping create data someone paid for. CRUSH is a utility reward, not a security and not a promise of profit.
• This is not a random coin trick with no product behind it. The burn is tied to real data access. No purchase of the data, no burn-and-payout loop for that batch.

For more on how CRUSH works as a reward you own, see the CRUSH token page. Want the on-chain and settlement details, including the first official burn transaction? Read the technical deep dive.

The short version

Get in the loop

The burn has begun because the data marketplace is real. Brands and buyers pay for fresh pricing signal. Contributors helped create that signal. So supply can shrink, and contributors can get paid.

The easiest way in right now: add the Crush browser extension, sign in, and let missions run. Little babysitting after setup, while the loop does its job.

If you want the pipes and the first on-chain settle, the technical deep dive is next.

Happy Crush'n.