The update everyone has been waiting for..
MMXIV 4.0.4! There are a few changes in this coin that are worth mentioning, so please take a minute to read through this so you understand what is happening. So without further delay..
General Update DetailsSome of you know why, some don't. If you remember the 9 day period for BALLS, changing timstamps will ensure that never happens with MMXIV. The GUI has also been updated for 4.0.4 - I know, Mac icons don't line up perfectly, but that's because you're missing the Trade tab. Coin control was going to be included, but was scrapped last minute as I was not happy with the results; it will return soon with a more detailed system of managing your funds. We have also set up two pro files for easy compiling on the Pi or other ARM systems that use Qt4 - More instructions will come later for an easy way of choosing with version of Qt to use
StakingMMXIV now has a Hybrid Staking system, meaning that half the blocks will use the conventional staking system, while the other half will use the Variance staking method. This means that after Block 264,000 of MMXIV, even number blocks will stake for the current 2014%, while odd numbered blocks will stake for a flat 20.14 MMXIV, regardless of input size. This change was done for a number of reasons. The main being to slow inflation by eating network coinage without drastically reducing the incentive to hold
What does this mean for our staking strategy?Two things.. First of all, inflation has been squished quite aggressively at the perfect time. MMXIV was about to start inflating beyond control, but we were able to get this fork done in time. This new Hybrid system opens us up to new staking strategies. I will explain in a little detail the two main strategies I see coming into play (there will be more, I'm sure)
1) You are a small holderNo problem. This system is actually built really well (and fairly) for both large and small holders. Your goal will be to split your coins up into small chunks, planning for the long term play of staking a bunch of the 20.14 blocks. If you were to hit a flat block with an input size of 1.0, you would be getting over 20x your deposit in just one stake! On the flip side, if you were to hit one of the 'bonus' blocks, you would end up with only 1.05 coins because of your low input amount
2) You are a large holderFirst of all, thank you for holding tight. Your goal will be to put your coins into large chunks, planning for the long term play of staking a bunch of the 2014% blocks. If you were to hit a flat block with an input size of 1000, you would get the standard flat 20.14 MMXIV reward. On the flip side, if you were to hit one of the 'bonus' blocks, you would end up with a massive stake of over 50 coins!
Think of this coin now as a lottery for both large and small holders. Small holders will be focused on the flat blocks while large holders aim for the bonus blocks. The best part, though, is that if a large holder wins the small lottery, or a small holder wins the large lottery, it eats all that coinage and reduces network inflation even further without nerfing stake rate so drastically that it hurts the individual. This change will slow the network while keeping user wallets feeling very much intact via high reward staking, increasing the incentive to hold massive amounts of MMXIV
