Ğ1

The Ğ1 (pronounced in French “June”, /ʒyn/) is a free currency as defined by the TRM (Relative Theory of Money) and a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency based on the software Duniter.

Its monetary creation mechanism differs from other cryptocurrencies. In Stéphane Laborde's theoretical treatise "Relative Theory of Money" (self-published, 2010), it is postulated and described that a portion of monetary creation can be granted equally among individuals while preserving spatial and temporal symmetry. Hence, all human beings may obtain the status of member provided they join the web of trust, and thus participate in monetary creation by creating the same daily share of currency as all other members. This makes Ğ1 a Universal Dividend (DU) currency. However, using the Ğ1 is not restricted to members of the web of trust, because one can open “wallet accounts” without formalities, with no limitation on number or age.

Theoretical operation

Monetary creation

Regarding its monetary creation method, Ğ1 distinguishes itself from other cryptocurrencies by establishing a free currency as described in the "Relative Theory of Money" (TRM) by Stéphane Laborde.

TRM draws inspiration from free software and presents four economic freedoms as its axiomatic starting point.

From these four freedoms derives the principle that money should not be created centrally, nor by bankers, nor by powerful computing nodes. Rather, monetary creation must be equally shared by each user across economic space and time. That is, every human member of the free currency should create the same share of money wherever they are and whenever they join.

This share is defined as a coefficient times the money supply divided by the number of members: c × (M/N). Theory shows that a high coefficient favors newcomers, while a low coefficient favors longstanding members. A coefficient around 10% is considered acceptable.

This continuous creation of currency (with no apparent destruction) leads to a perpetual increase in the money supply. To ensure that everyone always creates the same portion, that portion must increase proportionally — resulting in exponential quantitative growth in the money supply.

Relativity implies it's not the absolute quantity of money that matters, but the share each person holds. Hence, in free currency, the unit of exchange is not the number of units, but the number of shares one holds. When measuring in shares, monetary mass does not increase; what changes is the distribution of that mass.

Universal dividend

The ongoing creation by each member becomes a Universal Dividend (DU). This dividend can be viewed as a basic income, though it is not a sufficiency income (sufficiency being subjective).

The currency creation rate is designed to be 4.88% every 6 months (near 10% per year). This creation is spread daily. The daily DU Ğ1 amount is re-evaluated at each equinox. Each member of the web of trust sees their account increase each day by a DU Ğ1.

One DU Ğ1 per day per person is invariant. This invariant serves as the exchange unit to express prices that do not change due to monetary expansion. If Ğ1 seems inflationary quantitatively, it is not so relatively (when measured in DU Ğ1).

This perpetual increase means all member accounts gradually converge toward the average M/N. In neutral activity (expenditures = income), the average is reached in about 40 years.

One can observe that this evolution is not exactly 4.88% per semester, because the increase accounts for the number of members. The 4.88% threshold is reached when the number of members is stable.

Practical operation

In practice, the use of Ğ1 is similar to a LET system, without geographical limits. As with LETs, relationships and encounters between members are prioritized.

There is no membership fee; anyone can create an account from client software.

The issuance model of Ğ1 overcomes certain constraints of local currencies without requiring authorisation by the ACPR for dematerialised issuance. The construction of the Ğ1's web of trust, which implies human meetings, contributes to initiating local non-professional exchanges. Hence, Ğ1 also meets certain objectives of social and solidarity economy.

Web of trust

Ğ1 differs from other cryptocurrencies by its web of trust integrated into the blockchain.

To become a co-creator member of the currency, each prospective member must be certified by at least five existing members. Minors may be certified by any certified member who can attest to knowing them well.

This web of trust is designed to identify users in a fully decentralized way, in order to limit counterfeiting by multiple accounts.

Several parameters help the web resist fraud, especially Sybil attack. These parameters may evolve by consensus among Duniter blockchain developers and maintainers.

These parameters include:

• a minimum of five certifiers to join the web
• acquiring five certifications within two months
• a delay of five days between accepted successive certifications from the same person
• a validity duration of two years for a certification
• being within five "hops" of 80% of reference members (where reference members are those with sufficient issued and received certifications)

Ğ1 monetary license

The TRM only defines rules about monetary creation, whereas the Ğ1 license serves as the user manual for membership rules — especially safety rules such as two-year certification with intermediate validation.
When creating a member account in the Ğ1 web of trust, client software protocols require each person to commit to the Ğ1 monetary license.

This monetary license contains rules and guidelines to ensure that the same natural person cannot hold multiple member accounts that create currency. This is aimed at countering counterfeiting.

The license also explains the mechanism of Ğ1's monetary creation.

How Ğ1 differs from other cryptocurrencies

Ğ1 differs from other cryptocurrencies in several important ways:

1. Equal monetary creation: unlike most cryptocurrencies, Ğ1 is created equally among members via a Universal Dividend (DU) distributed daily. All members receive the same amount regardless of seniority or computational power.
2. Low energy consumption: Ğ1 is designed to be extremely energy-efficient. It can run even on low-power devices like Raspberry Pi, unlike Bitcoin which demands high computing power.
3. Web of trust: to become a currency co-creator, each person must be certified by at least five other members. That web of trust is built in the blockchain and helps prevent multiple false accounts.
4. Non-speculative: the regular and fair creation of currency makes Ğ1 less prone to speculation than other cryptocurrencies.
5. Based on Relative Theory of Money: Ğ1 is founded on TRM principles from Stéphane Laborde, aiming for a more equitable monetary system.
6. Social goal: Ğ1 aims to build social connections, particularly through required in-person meetings to join the web of trust.
7. Monetary license: Ğ1 has a specific monetary license defining rules for account creation and security.
8. Community-driven approach: the development and ecosystem of Ğ1 is largely community-led, unlike many cryptocurrencies run by companies or foundations.

These features make Ğ1 a unique experiment in the cryptocurrency world, aiming for a fairer and more democratic monetary system.

Use of DU as a quadratic voting token

The Universal Dividend (DU) of Ğ1 could be used as a token in a quadratic voting system. Quadratic voting lets participants express the intensity of preferences by “buying” extra votes, with cost increasing quadratically. Using DU Ğ1 as a voting currency offers several advantages:

1. Initial equality: every member receives the same DU daily, so votes begin equally
2. Regular renewal: daily DU distribution allows regular voting cycles
3. Real value: DU has exchange value, so votes carry real opportunity cost
4. Decentralization: consistent with Ğ1's decentralized philosophy

This approach is especially relevant to governance in the Ğ1 ecosystem, offering more nuanced collective decision-making than majority voting.

History

Ğ1 launched in French territory on with 59 initial members.

Parameters

A cryptocurrency, especially one based on the "Relative Theory of Money", is defined by parameters that decide the growth rate of the money supply and how an individual becomes a member of the web of trust.

Monetary parameters

Web of trust parameters

Software

Duniter environment software is released under free software licenses such as GNU GPLv3 or GNU AGPLv3.

Duniter is the original implementation of the Duniter protocols “DUBP” (blockchain) and “DUNP” (network), forming the core P2P network of Ğ1. It implements a node (or server) that synchronizes and updates the shared blockchain.

Originally coded in JavaScript, Duniter was ported to TypeScript, and from version 1.8.0 onward, parts have been ported to Rust via the Neon binding. It provides both a command-line interface and a web interface for administration, and offers two APIs:

• A “Basic Merkle API” for clients
• A “WS2P” (WebSocket-to-peer) API for node-to-node communication

Clients

Cesium

Cesium is a lightweight web client that allows users to connect a member account or wallet to the Duniter network. Its features include:

• Currency parameter summary
• Directory of members and wallets
• Node list (servers)
• Certification management
• Transaction management

Cesium is distributed as a Mozilla extension for Firefox.

G1nkgo

G1nkgo is a multi-platform wallet (web, mobile, Linux) designed for simplicity and fast use, especially for non-technical users.

Silkaj

Silkaj is a command-line client written in Python that enables sending transactions, issuing certifications, registering membership, revocations, viewing balances of multiple public keys, transaction history, and identity status within the web of trust. Silkaj is available in official repositories for Debian and Ubuntu.

Superbot G1

Superbot G1 is a Telegram wallet.

Duniter v2, migration to substrate framework

In , a proposal was made to migrate from Duniter v1 (a from-scratch implementation) to a second version built on the substrate framework. The main motivation is that Duniter v1 has become increasingly difficult to maintain. Expected advantages include offloading core blockchain infrastructure tasks, improved scalability, much higher block frequency (every six seconds instead of five minutes), and faster, more feature-rich client software. The new clients Ğecko and Tikka have been developed exclusively for this second-generation ecosystem; Cesium and Silkaj are planned to be ported accordingly.

Reception and criticism

Critiques have been raised about the theoretical foundations of TRM and practical implementation of this free currency.

Ğ1 is studied as a use case of blockchain technology for building commons.

External links

• Official site:
• Duniter.org
• Client software: Cesium