Emission rates. After ten years, this seems to be what it's all about. Or, this seems what it's all about at least for now—things change so fast in crypto.
When I got into Bitcoin, I had no clue what I was getting into. I say that because I, regretfully, bought only 0.01 BTC. Doggone it! It took me quite a while and a few books of reading, before I felt like I was starting, repeat, starting, to get a handle on all this cryptocurrency nonsense. Full disclosure…none of us still really have any clue in this space. Anyone who says otherwise is either full of bologna sandwich or running a racket of some sort. Can I get an "Amen?!"
Bitcoin established it all, of course. I feel that October 31, 2008 when the whitepaper came out, or January 3, 2009 when Block 0 was mined, are largely unknown dates outside of the crypto community. But, I'm convinced that either or both of these dates will eventually go down as being game-changers in history. They changed economics and monetary policy. And by monetary policy, I don't mean Federal Reserve Boards' manipulation of a nation's monetary policy. Rather, I mean the value of money for real people…the quantity of real money in the hands of real people who control their real money.
Ten years in, it's beginning to become clear that maladies may well exist in this space. No wait, let's rephrase that out of respect for Satoshi and what he established…
Ten years in, we can build on Satoshi Nakamoto's incredible foundation.
Enter Grin coin. I salute the person who goes by the monicker of Ignotus Peverell. He or she coded and set up Grin, in Rust, no less. From what I understand, Rust is nothing less than a clean and pure coding language. It has clarity and precision. I perceive that it may not be the easiest to learn, but is powerful. I tip my cap to Igno. Also, 
Grin is fantastic. First, it is private, via MimbleWimble. Secondly, it rewards work. In this way, it is fair. There is no pre-mine nonsense. There is no reward to developers.
Ironically, the fairness of Grin may be also be a weakness. Since developers and early adopters receive no gain, there is little incentive for developers to continue working on Grin. There is, of course, the incentive to a developer to keep the ecosystem up and running and improving if indeed she or he mines or holds Grin coins. But, that is the extent of the incentives. For a talented developer, and anyone adroit in Rust is just that, every minute spent coding on Grin generates an immense opportunity cost of wages not earned doing something else.
What's more, the emission rate of Grin gives me cause to balk. Grin emits a coin every second. More precisely, 60 coins roughly every minute. Forever. In a linear fashion. Hmm. The idea is that, with an everlasting inflationary model, Grin will be more prone to being spent - why hold the coin, when, in the future, it'll have less buying power than right now. This philosophy is in opposition to Bitcoin's deflationary model which incentives holding onto a coin as long as possible - why spend now, when, in the future, it'll have greater value?
The simplicity of Grin is beautiful. Effectively, it emits one coin per second. simple enough. And linear. But, beyond its simplicity and ability to be easily grasped, is it prudent? I don't know. Time will tell. However, my gut wrenches with the constant inflationary premise that Grin holds.
Enter BitGrin. User @BitGrin called out Grin on the emission rate issue. BitGrin advocated a Bitcoin-like emission of coins, in a decreasing fashion. Plus, BitGrin allows for only 21 million coins ever, like Bitcoin. Other changes include some coins going to developers. Rather than relying on donations, like Grin, BitGrin devs will receive coins. It's not 100% sure yet whether the devs are setting up a money-grab, guised as a Bitcoin improvement, but if wholesome, the concept is sound. Incentivizing effort yields consistent effort; consistently asking for donations does not.
Frankly, I don't know if BitGrin has the incentivation formula figured out. There must be a magical algorithm to this effect out there…yet to be found. We will some day…because the incentives are there to find it. I have a theory on this, maybe I'll take action on it one day. For now, enjoy the ride and fun along the way! Grin generated its Genesis block a couple of weeks ago, and BitGrin goes live in about 15 minutes. Here we go!
Originally published on http://satoshitimes.wikidot.com
February 7, 2019
LINK: http://satoshitimes.wikidot.com/blog:31
Although dated, this is being posted here on the Hive blockchain so that it's archived.