A fixed money supply sounds good in theory, but in practice it rewards those who can accumulate faster than everyone else. Over time, wealth concentration compounds. Those with the most capital can buy up land, infrastructure, and other scarce assets. Once they control both money and resources, they dictate the terms of trade for everyone else.
Tail emissions, like those in Monero, are designed to break that dynamic. They ensure there’s always a way to earn money through energy via proof of work, not just by holding more. It isn’t about inflation, it’s about access and power.
An open economy needs a way in for new participants. Fixed supply gives that power to accumulators. Tail emissions give it back to workers. They keep the system open, instead of letting it harden in the hands of a few.
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Tail emissions are a bandaid and they do not fix the core problem of wealth distribution. Ideally the halving cycle should be restarted generationally. In fact bitcoin itself was originally coded this way. But BIP42 “fixed” it.
It would need massive coercion to force people to hold money that did that, which would defeat the point.