# ZABAL Update #13

> What Empire Builder Enables for ZABAL

**Published by:** [The ZAO Newsletter](https://paragraph.com/@thezao/)
**Published on:** 2026-01-04
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@thezao/zabal-update-13

## Content

This update focuses on the coordination layer behind ZABAL: Empire Builder. ZABAL uses Empire Builder as a coordination surface, not just a launch tool. It functions as a live, onchain control panel for how participation, alignment, and rewards are surfaced and managed over time.ZABAL EmpireJoin the ZABAL Empire - Token utilities, airdrops, burns & community features. Build engaged token communities with Empire Builder.https://www.empirebuilder.worldLeaderboard With Asset-Based BoostsZABAL has a live leaderboard on Empire Builder that ranks participants based on boosts, not raw trading activity. Boosts are applied to people holding aligned assets across the Zaal ecosystem, including:$ZABAL token holdersOther aligned Zaal ecosystem tokens, such as writer coins, Retake-style community tokens, or Zora-based creator coinsFor example, holding BetterCallZaal or other aligned Zaal ecosystem assets increases your position on the leaderboard. This design surfaces alignment and long-term participation, not short-term speculation. The leaderboard answers a simple question: Who is actually here and holding across the ecosystem?Transparent Treasury VisibilityEmpire Builder includes a fully visible treasury tied directly to the ZABAL empire. From the UI, anyone can see:Treasury balancesInflows and outflowsBurnsDistributionsThere are no hidden mechanics. Everything is observable and auditable onchain. This creates a shared source of truth for how value is held, moved, and used.Flexible Distribution MechanicsThe treasury is not locked into a single payout model. Empire Builder supports multiple distribution formats, including:Top 10 leaderboard distributionsRaffle-based distributionsCustom reward logic tied to participationThis flexibility allows ZABAL to reward consistency, avoid pure whale dominance, and experiment with different incentive structures. All distributions are visible in the UI and verifiable onchain.Burn MechanicsEmpire Builder supports treasury burns, with burns clearly displayed in the interface. This allows ZABAL to:Reduce supply intentionallyTie burns to milestones or decisionsMake value removal explicit and transparentBurns are visible, auditable, and permanent.Tiny Interns — The ZABAL BotEmpire Builder also supports lightweight automation agents, sometimes referred to as tiny interns. For ZABAL, we’ve created a ZABAL bot that lives on Farcaster. You can tag the ZABAL bot directly (@zabalbot) as a coordination and reference layer as the ecosystem evolves. The bot helps surface information and support coordination without manual overhead. The ZABAL bot is not a decision-maker or authority. It’s a coordination helper.What This Means for ZABALEmpire Builder gives ZABAL:A neutral coordination surfaceAsset-based alignment signalsTransparent treasury logicFlexible reward mechanismsAutomation without centralizationThis isn’t about financial engineering. It’s about making participation legible. This is the foundation. How we use it will be shaped in public.Empire Builder gives us structure, not answers. How we use these tools will be decided in public, shaped by participation, and refined through real-world use. The goal isn’t to optimize numbers — it’s to make coordination visible and usable. We’ll be going live tomorrow at 9:00 AM EST for a BCZ Yaps conversation with Yerberzerker from Empire Builder, walking through the system, the thinking behind it, and what builders should pay attention to. More soon as we continue to build this in the open. – Zaal, from the ZABAL

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