Alternative ZEC supply models

[jelly5649]

We already know many are against the idea of changing the 21M ZEC supply. Good and fair, no need to argue against it on this thread meant to discuss potential alternatives.

We know that Zcash, like Bitcoin, has a looming issue: funding security. Today, things are mostly fine, as block rewards are sufficient to compensate for this task. There’s just no plan for the future of this critical aspect.

Fundamentally, we need a solution that does not alter the most important aspects we are expecting from ZEC:

• Store of value: ZEC is failing if over the medium/long term, it is not holding up to inflation.
• Mean of exchange: ZEC is failing if users cannot exchange their tokens for a low fee.
• Unit of account: we good.

That’s the base of money / cash, right. Zcash is supposed to be at least that. Now on top of it, our thing is that it has to be electronic and private. Electronic is pretty clear and done. Private can be a little more nebulous if we look closely, but the general idea is that only ZEC holders should be able to know what goes in and out of their wallets, unless they have specifically consented otherwise.

Alright, so those are fundamentals we really cannot touch if we really want to be:

1. Private
2. Digital
3. Cash

Again in this thread, we do not hold the 21M max token supply as sacred, as we try to be constructive about realistic alternatives.

Ok, we’ve clarified that, nice.

Now, could we have something dynamic like Ethereum has? More generally, has anyone with cryptoeconomics chops suggested anything relevant for Bitcoin or Zcash that we could use here?

[Jgx7]

@jelly5649

• Store of value: ZEC is failing if over the medium/long term, it is not holding up to inflation.
• Mean of exchange: ZEC is failing if users cannot exchange their tokens for a low fee.

I think you are wrong on all accounts. ZEC is failing if it does not offer consumers what they want. People will pay the fees if they get value from the ZEC services and product people want to use. They will want to pay the fees. now fees can be tiered. if you want low fees maybe you need to wait a day for your transaction to clear… Low fee mindset is a trap.

If ZEC creates a viable model, and creates the features people want from money, they will pay the fees and ZEC will have value. No fee model is a loser. Focus on inflation is a loser too. Focus on the product and what customers want out of money, charge a fair fee/gas and it’s a winner.

[noamchom]

@jelly5649

We know that Zcash, like Bitcoin, has a looming issue: funding security.

I feel most strongly that to curb the supply cap risks, Zcash should immediately change into tail emissions mode.

The perpetual tail emissions rate should be 1-2% and dynamically change on a 100,000 block interval

[jelly5649]

Ycash discussion (Discord) relevant to this thread:

Love seeing this “experiment”.

21M won’t hold long term imho. While I’m still not particularly interested to change the 21M, I am really curious to hear about smarter people than myself (easy) regarding different supply models that would ensure the long term success of the project.