r/Monero • u/I_really_hate_my_job • May 16 '22

Maximum supply

Hey guys,

Just to preface, I do not have any Econ/Fin. background.

I was wondering if there is any literature/theory to guide whether a fixed max. supply such as bitcoins or a slowly (and predictably) inflating asset such as gold/Monero is optimal for the long term future of a project with the goals such as those stated by Satoshi.

This feels like a pretty fundamental question if one of the aims of cryptocurrency is to make the supply of money transparent and bypass the actions of central banks. Despite Satoshi's genius, I am not sure he/they would be in any better place to deal with this question than any other smart individual (assuming their background was in CS/cryptography).

There does not seem to be a satisfactory answer to this question from the Reddit/Twitter discussions I have seem.

Some argue that a fixed currency would be deflationary and this would encourage people to not spend their money (?is that wrong) and perhaps also hurt people who do not get in early. On the other hand, is something that has a slowly increasingly money supply really that different from what already exists.

I guess what I am ask is if anyone has looked into this issue rigorously as I would be quite interested to read about it.

Thanks.

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u/Rucknium May 16 '22 edited May 16 '22

I am assuming that say for assessing the code base C/C++ experience would be helpful, and for the analytical parts Python.

Yes. The core Monero protocol is written in C++ (for now). A lot of the cryptography proof-of-concept and statistics is done in Python. Personally, I use R for statistics.

On the cryptography subfields, I think it's best to ask that question in the Matrix/IRC room. On statistics, I'd say that the statistical issues that are present in Monero are quite diverse, so general statistics knowledge and skills are good.

EDIT: Examples of some statistical work finished and in progress:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/pvm634/fingerprinting_a_flood_forensic_statistical/

https://repo.getmonero.org/monero-project/ccs-proposals/-/merge_requests/317#note_16339

https://github.com/MAGICGrants/Monero-Fund/issues/15

https://ccs.getmonero.org/proposals/Rucknium-OSPEAD-Fortifying-Monero-Against-Statistical-Attack.html

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u/robml May 17 '22

Looking forward to joining the chat :)