Kleros (PNK): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Dispute-resolution protocol made of smart contracts; Court V1 runs on Ethereum, V2 on Arbitrum.
- Maximum supply
- 915,528,222.07931277 PNK; supply changes only by Kleros DAO governance vote.
- Risks and caveats
- Jurors who vote against the final decision lose part of their staked PNK.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- PNK
- Official site
- kleros.io
Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.
What is Kleros
Kleros is a decentralised arbitration protocol: jurors who stake the PNK token are drawn to decide disputes, and the ruling is enforced on-chain. It is used by Web3 apps, businesses and governments to resolve disputes such as escrow, insurance claims and listing curation.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Dispute-resolution protocol made of smart contracts; Court V1 runs on Ethereum, V2 on Arbitrum. |
| Launched | Court V1 launched on Ethereum mainnet in 2018. |
| Smart contracts | V1's core contract is KlerosLiquid, combining staking, juror selection, voting and dispute management. |
| Runs on | On Arbitrum (V2 home chain) PNK uses the standard bridged token. |
| Status of V2 | Kleros V2 is in beta and undergoing internal review and external audits. |
| Use cases | Dispute resolution for business and government, e.g. chargebacks and fraud cases in finance. |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 915,528,222.07931277 PNK; supply changes only by Kleros DAO governance vote. |
| Total supply | The tokenomics page gives a total supply of 764,626,704 PNK (conflicts with the 915,528,222 maximum on the PNK token page). |
| Staking rewards | Coherent jurors earn arbitration fees and PNK from incoherent jurors, who lose part of their stake. |
What PNK is used for
- Staking: PNK is staked in a court to be eligible for juror selection; more stake means higher selection probability.
- Governance: PNK holders vote on Kleros Improvement Proposals (KIPs), court parameters and upgrades.
- Attack resistance: the cost of acquiring a majority of PNK is a defence against 51% (Sybil) attacks.
Who develops and governs Kleros
- Developer
- Developed by Coopérative Kleros, a French cooperative society.
- Legal entity
- Coopérative Kleros, SCIC SAS, Paris Trade and Companies Register no. 841 671 902.
- Governance
- PNK holders vote on proposals to create courts, set parameters and guide the protocol.
- Company
- The cooperative publishes annual, monthly treasury and risk reports.
- Governance process
- Proposals (KIPs) are drafted on the Kleros Forum, voted on Snapshot by PNK holders and enacted on-chain through Kleros Governor.
- Open source
- Kleros publishes its code on GitHub; GitHub shows the organisation has verified the kleros.io domain.
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Kleros Court V1 launched on Ethereum mainnet. |
| 11 January 2024 | Kleros announced that it had blocked an attempted attack on the Proof of Humanity DAO governor. |
| 28 May 2026 | The legal notice was revised; Coopérative Kleros is the publisher. |
Security and audits
- PNK staking is designed to make a 51% (Sybil) attack costly; the docs list market scarcity, price impact and forking as defences.
- Kleros V2 is in beta and undergoing internal review and external audits.
- In January 2024 Kleros reported that a malicious list submitted to the Proof of Humanity DAO governor was challenged and blocked through a Kleros court case.
Security incidents
Incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so none is listed here.
Official PNK contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0x93ED3FBe21207Ec2E8f2d3c3de6e058Cb73Bc04d |
PNK token contract on Ethereum mainnet as listed in the Kleros V1 deployment addresses.
Risks and caveats
- Jurors who vote against the final decision lose part of their staked PNK.
- Kleros V2 is still in beta and under external audits.
- The website is informational only and is not financial advice or an offer of PNK.
Official links
- Website: kleros.io
- Docs: docs.kleros.io
- Whitepaper: kleros.io/static/whitepaper.pdf
- Source code: github.com/kleros
- Blog: blog.kleros.io
- Governance forum: forum.kleros.io
Questions and answers
What is Kleros?
Kleros is a decentralised arbitration protocol where jurors who stake PNK decide disputes; Court V1 has run on Ethereum since 2018.
What is PNK used for?
PNK is staked to qualify as a juror and is used to vote on governance proposals; staking also makes 51% attacks costly.
What is the supply of PNK?
Kleros docs give two figures: a maximum supply of 915,528,222.07931277 PNK (PNK token page) and a total supply of 764,626,704 PNK (tokenomics page); supply changes only by DAO governance vote.
Who is behind Kleros?
Coopérative Kleros, a French cooperative (SCIC SAS) registered in Paris under RCS 841 671 902.
Has Kleros been hacked?
In January 2024 Kleros reported blocking an attempted attack on the Proof of Humanity DAO governor; it says the DAO's funds were saved.
Sources
- Kleros - Home
- Kleros - PNK token
- Kleros - Cooperative
- Kleros - Legal notice
- Kleros - Become a juror
- Kleros docs - PNK token
- Kleros docs - Tokenomics
- Kleros docs - V1 deployment addresses
- Kleros docs - Court overview
- Kleros docs - Governance overview
- Kleros on X - PoH governor exploit attempt (11 January 2024)
- Etherscan - PNK token contract
- Kleros on GitHub
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