RTNC Mining Paper v1.0

1. Overview

Mining is the process that secures the RTNC network, validates transactions, and introduces new RTNC into circulation. Miners perform proof-of-work computations to build blocks, and in return they receive block rewards and transaction fees. There are no staking rewards, no protocol-managed yield, and no embedded financial schemes within mining.

2. Mining Philosophy

RTNC mining is built around three principles: fairness, predictability, and long-term security. The protocol is designed so that early participation is not restricted to wealthy or industrial players, and long-term security is achieved without sacrificing legal simplicity.

2.1 Fairness First

Mining begins in a CPU-friendly phase to give more people a realistic chance to participate using existing hardware. There is no private mining window and no hidden testnet-to-mainnet advantage.

2.2 Predictability

The emission curve, block timing, and difficulty adjustment rules are defined in advance and not subject to governance intervention. This prevents arbitrary changes that could advantage a subset of miners.

2.3 Security Through Progression

Over time, RTNC anticipates a natural evolution from CPU miners to GPU miners and eventually ASIC miners. Rather than fight this progression, the protocol is designed to handle it cleanly, preserving security while keeping the rules stable.

3. Consensus and Block Production

RTNC uses proof-of-work with a ten-minute target block time. Each block contains a set of validated transactions and a coinbase transaction that pays the mining reward to the block creator.

Nodes verify blocks by checking the proof-of-work, ensuring that all transactions are valid, and confirming that the block extends the current best chain. The canonical chain is the one with the most cumulative proof-of-work.

4. Difficulty Adjustment

To keep the average block time near ten minutes, RTNC adjusts mining difficulty based on how quickly blocks are being found. If blocks are coming too fast, difficulty rises; if they are too slow, difficulty drops.

Difficulty adjustment is automatic and algorithmic. Neither miners, governance participants, nor the foundation can manually set or override difficulty.

5. Emission Model

RTNC has a fixed maximum supply of 10,000,000,000 RTNC. New coins are created only through block rewards, and those rewards follow a pre-defined schedule that decays smoothly over time rather than via abrupt halving events. This provides a more predictable environment for miners.

There are no mechanisms to pause, accelerate, or “re-mint” emission. Once the maximum supply is reached, no further coins are created.

6. Mining Phases

RTNC’s mining lifecycle can be understood as three overlapping phases:

• Phase 1: CPU-focused early mining.
• Phase 2: GPU-dominant growth period.
• Phase 3: Potential ASIC-dominated long-term security.

6.1 CPU Phase

At launch, the proof-of-work function and difficulty parameters are tuned so that CPU mining is viable. This phase is expected to last roughly eighteen months, though real-world mining behavior will determine the exact dynamics. The goal is broad distribution and low barrier to entry.

6.2 GPU Phase

As the network matures, GPU miners naturally gain dominance due to higher hash rates and efficiency. This phase improves chain security while still allowing smaller operations to participate if they choose to invest in consumer GPU hardware.

6.3 ASIC Phase

In the long term, dedicated ASIC hardware may be developed for RTNC. If this occurs, the chain benefits from the same kind of industrial-strength security seen in other large proof-of-work networks. The protocol does not artificially block this progression; it simply remains neutral.

7. Hardware and Participation

The protocol does not dictate what hardware miners should use, nor does it require them to purchase any particular device. Participation is voluntary and permissionless. Individuals and organizations can choose whether mining is economically sensible for them.

7.1 CPU Mining

During the early phase, miners can participate with multi-core CPUs and modest power usage. This phase favors technically inclined individuals rather than large capital pools.

7.2 GPU Mining

GPU mining introduces higher performance and power requirements, but still uses accessible consumer hardware. This phase is well-suited for hobbyists, small mining farms, and early infrastructure builders.

7.3 ASIC Mining

If ASICs emerge, they will likely be operated by more specialized mining entities. RTNC remains neutral: the protocol neither encourages nor discourages this; it simply maintains consistent rules while hashpower evolves.

8. Miner Incentives and Limitations

Miners are incentivized through block rewards and transaction fees. These are the only protocol-defined incentives. There are no extra bonuses, tax redistributions, or embedded reward multipliers in RTNC’s mining logic.

Miners do not receive governance rights by default, and owning mining hardware does not grant special authority over protocol rules.

9. Network Security Considerations

RTNC’s security comes from the cost of reorganizing the chain. As hashpower increases, it becomes more expensive to attack the network. The evolving phases (CPU → GPU → ASIC) are expected to increase total security over time as more hashpower joins.

The protocol does not include explicit penalties (such as slashing) because proof-of-work already imposes a natural economic cost on malicious actors: wasted electricity and hardware time.

10. Legal Alignment

RTNC mining is designed to remain compatible with non-security treatment. Miners are not promised returns, yield, or profit by the protocol or by the RTNC Foundation. They independently decide whether to mine, at their own cost and risk.

The mining process is competitive work, not an investment contract.

11. Long-Term Outlook

Over time, RTNC aims to be a stable proof-of-work chain with clear rules, a transparent emission curve, and a mining ecosystem that grows or shrinks based on real-world economics rather than protocol gimmicks.

Mining exists to secure the network and distribute RTNC, not to operate as a financial product or yield mechanism.