Maximum Viable Security: A New Framing for Ethereum Issuance

This is a crosspost -- please find the original paper on ethresearch [here], while below we provide a brief summary.

Maximum Viable Security (MVS) is a new framework for Ethereum Issuance. In collaboration with Steakhouse, we derive this monetary policy framework from the core values of Ethereum – security and neutrality. In short, MVS maximizes security without compromising scarcity, while MVI minimizes issuance without compromising security. In other words, MVS prioritizes expansion over efficiency, while MVI does the opposite.

We also apply MVS to the issuance reduction proposal, by showing that issuance reduction can compromise security and neutrality in a direct way. We study solo stakers’ cost structures and staked ETH concentration with Coinbase, and show that the latter effect, on balance, far outweighs the advantages of cutting the issuance.