Economics
Intermediate
What is
ChainCash?
The production reference implementation of Ergo's Note+Reserve+Tracker agent payment stack — a community currency and bearer instrument protocol by BetterMoneyLabs.
ChainCash is an open-source protocol built on Ergo that implements bearer instruments (Notes) backed by ERG Reserves, with a Tracker registry for double-spend prevention. It enables community currencies, agent credit systems, and programmable IOUs without any centralized infrastructure. ChainCash is live on Ergo mainnet, built by BetterMoneyLabs, and serves as the reference implementation for the agent economy payment stack described in Ergo documentation. Developers building agent payment systems can use ChainCash contracts directly or as templates for custom Reserve+Note implementations.
Key Points
- Live on Ergo mainnet — not a prototype
- Open source — contracts and SDK available
- Built by BetterMoneyLabs
- Implements: Reserve, Note, Tracker, and redemption flows
- Enables community currencies backed by ERG
- Reference implementation for agent payment developers
- Compatible with Fleet SDK and AppKit
Use Cases
1
Community currencies: local ERG-backed notes for community use
2
Agent credit: orchestrators issue Notes to sub-agents
3
Developer template: fork ChainCash contracts for custom payment apps
4
API payment: services accept ChainCash Notes as payment
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Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about ChainCash
Common questions about this topic
Is Ergo a good investment?
This is not financial advice. Ergo has strong fundamentals: fair launch (no VC dump risk), innovative technology (eUTXO, Sigma Protocols, NiPoPoWs), active development, and a cypherpunk ethos. It's a smaller market cap project with higher risk/reward than established chains. Research thoroughly, understand the technology, and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Comparison
Getting Started
How to get started with Ergo?
Start by getting a wallet (Nautilus for browser, Terminus for mobile). Back up your seed phrase securely offline. Get some ERG from an exchange (Gate.io, KuCoin) or DEX (Spectrum). Make a test transaction. Then explore: try DeFi on Spectrum, check out NFTs, or dive into the technology if you're a builder.
How-to
Getting Started
What are NiPoPoWs and why do they matter?
NiPoPoWs (Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work) are cryptographic proofs that compress blockchain history. Instead of downloading gigabytes of blocks, light clients can verify the chain with just kilobytes of data. This enables true trustless light wallets, efficient cross-chain bridges, and sidechains - all without trusting third parties.
Explainer
Technology
How do miners earn money on Ergo?
Ergo miners earn from three sources: block rewards (newly minted ERG), transaction fees, and storage rent. Block rewards decrease over time according to the emission schedule, but storage rent ensures long-term income even after all ERG is mined. Most miners use pools for consistent payouts.
How-to
Mining