git / moonbite-network / docs/ADR-011-emission-locked-fixed-cap.md · raw

# ADR-011 — Emission is locked: fixed-cap, Bitcoin-style- **Status:** Accepted- **Date:** 2026-09-04- **Related:** ADR-002 / ADR-010 (the emission schedule), ADR-006 (fair-launch  and founder-mining disclosure), ADR-007 (no protocol revenue).## ContextMoonBite's emission was set in ADR-010: a 10 MBITE block subsidy, halving every1,650,000 blocks (about 6.27 years at 2-minute spacing), summing to a hard capjust under 33,000,000 MBITE, with difficulty retargeting every 60 blocks andRandomX proof of work.Alternatives were weighed for a coin that hopes to become valuable over time:a flatter/longer halving (spreads coins more evenly), and a tail emission(a small permanent block reward that keeps miners paid forever, at the cost ofa fixed cap). The decision is to keep the Bitcoin-style fixed-cap model.## Decision**The emission schedule is fixed and will not be changed to chase a price.**It stays exactly as ADR-010 defines it:| Parameter | Value ||---|---|| Block subsidy | 10 MBITE, halving every 1,650,000 blocks || Block time | 2 minutes || Supply cap | ~32,999,999.96 MBITE (hard) || Proof of work | RandomX (CPU-friendly, ASIC-resistant) |Rationale: a credible, unchangeable, scarce schedule is what lets a marketprice the coin. Predictability is the asset. The network already adapts tovalue on its own — if MoonBite becomes valuable, more miners arrive, difficultyrises, and security scales up without any rule change; if it stays small,difficulty falls and blocks still come every 2 minutes.This is honestly front-loaded: roughly half of all coins are mined in the first~6.3 years, and early solo mining (disclosed in ADR-006) accrues a large sharecheaply. That is inherent to the halving model and is accepted, not hidden.## Miners earn two ways (no third, ever)1. **Block subsidy** — new coins, on the schedule above.2. **Transaction fees** — the fees of the transactions in the block.There is no premine, no dev tax, no protocol fee (ADR-007). "Network fee" and"miner fee" are the same thing, and it goes entirely to whoever mines the block.## The one long-term risk, and the contingencyAs halvings shrink the subsidy toward zero, miners must be paid by transaction**fees** or network security weakens. The plan is to grow real usage so feerevenue replaces the subsidy over time (Bitcoin's bet).**Tail emission is a documented fallback, not a commitment.** If, by the timethe subsidy has become small, fee revenue has not grown enough to secure thechain, a small permanent tail emission may be adopted — but only through a newADR, announced in advance, never silently. Until such an ADR exists, the cap ishard and final.## Consequences- No code or genesis change: the chain already implements this schedule.- The fixed-cap, hard-scarcity narrative is the official one.- Any future change to emission requires a new ADR and public notice; there is  no discretionary path to alter it.