Revision as of 17:24, 7 August 2026

💡 In simple words: Imagine giving money to help build a platform for everyone. To say thank you, your reward could grow by a little bit each year, like 5%. But to pay for this, the monthly membership fee would also have to grow by 5% every year. We need an Open Call study to make sure this is fair and affordable for everyone in the world, especially in poorer countries.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): This Wave 2 Open Call study explores a 5% annual value increase as a long-term substitute for the bonding curve multiplier. The goal is to provide a stable, non-usurious return (5% in Swiss Francs) for donors supporting the ecosystem. To fund this, the base subscription fee would increase by 5% annually (e.g., from CHF 1 to approximately CHF 3 in 22 years). The study will assess feasibility and socio-economic risks, particularly affordability in developing nations, ensuring the platform remains mutualist and operates at actual cost.

Annual Value Increase (Study)

Supporting the ecosystem

The primary goal is to allow people to support the development and deployment of the WikiDeal platform and its marketplaces through donations. These funders make a donation without any guarantee of return, but with the possibility of recovering their donation in the future.

To protect this potential return from inflation, the system aims to operate primarily in stable currencies, such as the Swiss Franc (CHF).

Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest

Early funding rounds require high bonding curve multipliers (such as x100 or x30 in Prototype 1) because the risk is very high. However, as the platform matures, the risk decreases. In Prototype 2, the multiplier is expected to drop from x30 down to x10, or even down to x1.

Ultimately, the goal is to phase out the bonding curve multiplier entirely. In its place, the only advantage or potential return for a donor would be a steady 5% annual increase on the reward. In Switzerland, a 5% rate is considered non-usurious and perfectly acceptable.

Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision

To fund a 5% annual increase on rewards, the monthly subscription fee must also increase by 5% annually.

For example, starting at a base of CHF 1 per month, a 5% annual increase means the subscription would reach approximately CHF 3 per month in about 22 years.

By that 15 to 25 year horizon, the vision is that WikiDeal could have a billion users (similar to Wikipedia) and a massive volume of transactions. The platform is designed in a mutualist spirit: users would be able to pay for fundamental daily services (water, transport, electricity) at their actual cost, without generating profits for shareholders or the platform itself. Compared to the high commissions charged by speculative and lucrative platforms, a model running at actual cost plus a modest 5% annual return for early donors remains extremely competitive and affordable.

Risks, side effects, and the Open Call

This mechanism is a healthy and important concept, but it is not guaranteed and must be debated. We must identify potential loopholes, flaws, and perverse side effects.

A major perverse effect to study is affordability in developing nations. If the subscription reaches CHF 3 per month, it might represent 3% of the monthly income for someone earning less than $100 a month, which could become a barrier to entry.

Because of these implications, this topic is the subject of a dedicated Wave 2 Open Call. This reflection must take place and conclude before the end of Prototype 1, so the community can decide whether and how to implement this 5% annual value increase as the multiplier drops in Prototype 2.

See also: Open Calls · All innovations · Economy and funding

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{KidsIntro|Maybe one day, rewards could slowly grow a little each year, like a savings jar. Nobody has decided yet. The team plans to ask everyone through an Open Call: people will send ideas and studies, and then a choice will be made.}}
+{{KidsIntro|Imagine giving money to help build a platform for everyone. To say thank you, your reward could grow by a little bit each year, like 5%. But to pay for this, the monthly membership fee would also have to grow by 5% every year. We need an Open Call study to make sure this is fair and affordable for everyone in the world, especially in poorer countries.}}
-{{ExpertIntro|A possible annual percentage increase on rewards is under study. No percentage is decided; figures mentioned in earlier drafts were only illustrations and are withdrawn. The multiplier is considered more relevant than an added percentage on the reward only. The question is planned as a dedicated Open Call (draft, not yet launched) that would collect proposals and scientific and economic analyses of its positive and negative impacts. The topic gains relevance over the funding rounds, since the bonding curve multiplier is intended to decrease round after round.}}
+{{ExpertIntro|This Wave 2 Open Call study explores a 5% annual value increase as a long-term substitute for the bonding curve multiplier. The goal is to provide a stable, non-usurious return (5% in Swiss Francs) for donors supporting the ecosystem. To fund this, the base subscription fee would increase by 5% annually (e.g., from CHF 1 to approximately CHF 3 in 22 years). The study will assess feasibility and socio-economic risks, particularly affordability in developing nations, ensuring the platform remains mutualist and operates at actual cost.}}
 __TOC__
-= Annual Value Increase (draft Open Call) =
+= Annual Value Increase (Study) =
-''Economic question, WikiDeal R&D. Status: draft Open Call, not yet launched, not decided, not yet implemented.''
-{| class="wikitable"
+<span id="purpose"></span>
-|-
+== Supporting the ecosystem ==
-| Origin || 🟢 WikiDeal concept
+The primary goal is to allow people to support the development and deployment of the WikiDeal platform and its marketplaces through donations. These funders make a donation without any guarantee of return, but with the possibility of recovering their donation in the future.
-|-
-| Status || '''Draft Open Call, not yet launched, not decided, not yet implemented'''
-|-
-| Scope || To be studied through a dedicated Open Call, at a later stage
-|}
-<span id="what-is-it"></span>
+To protect this potential return from inflation, the system aims to operate primarily in stable currencies, such as the Swiss Franc (CHF).
-== What is it? ==
-One recurring question from WikiDeal funders is: ''"what do I get back?"'' One idea under study is that rewards could increase slightly each year, through an annual percentage increase.
-This idea is '''only a proposal, not a confirmed feature'''. At this stage:
+<span id="replacing-multiplier"></span>
+== Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest ==
+Early funding rounds require high bonding curve multipliers (such as x100 or x30 in Prototype 1) because the risk is very high. However, as the platform matures, the risk decreases. In Prototype 2, the multiplier is expected to drop from x30 down to x10, or even down to x1.
-* It is not decided whether it would be implemented at all.
+Ultimately, the goal is to phase out the bonding curve multiplier entirely. In its place, the only advantage or potential return for a donor would be a steady 5% annual increase on the reward. In Switzerland, a 5% rate is considered non-usurious and perfectly acceptable.
-* No percentage is defined. Figures mentioned in earlier drafts were only illustrations and are withdrawn.
-<span id="base-hypothesis"></span>
+<span id="subscription-impact"></span>
-== The base hypothesis and its cost ==
+== Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision ==
-A possible annual percentage increase on rewards is under study through this draft Open Call (not yet launched); no percentage is decided. This is the '''base hypothesis''' of the call, and the goal of the call is to demonstrate, or invalidate, its relevance.
+To fund a 5% annual increase on rewards, the monthly subscription fee must also increase by 5% annually.
-If it were adopted, it would also mean an increase in the cost of the platform: typically, in ten years, the yearly subscription would be significantly higher than today. The counterpart is that this subscription is linked to global services that aim at letting users avoid separate legal advice for their commercial dealings, which is an important part of its value.
+For example, starting at a base of CHF 1 per month, a 5% annual increase means the subscription would reach approximately CHF 3 per month in about 22 years.
-<span id="multiplier"></span>
+By that 15 to 25 year horizon, the vision is that WikiDeal could have a billion users (similar to Wikipedia) and a massive volume of transactions. The platform is designed in a mutualist spirit: users would be able to pay for fundamental daily services (water, transport, electricity) at their actual cost, without generating profits for shareholders or the platform itself. Compared to the high commissions charged by speculative and lucrative platforms, a model running at actual cost plus a modest 5% annual return for early donors remains extremely competitive and affordable.
-== The multiplier matters more than the percentage ==
-In this model, '''the multiplier is more relevant than an added percentage on the reward only''': the bonding curve multiplier, applied at donation time, is what mainly shapes the potential reward; an annual percentage would only be a secondary adjustment on top of it.
-If it were adopted, the interest would be to create a stable commitment, in some ways comparable to a stable state bond, but issued by the worldwide community of online commerce users. This would create a new interest group at the international level: the actors of online commerce. As everywhere in this model, this remains a donation-based, non-speculative mechanism, with no guarantee: rewards remain potential ceilings, paid only from real subscription income.
+<span id="open-call-risks"></span>
+== Risks, side effects, and the Open Call ==
+This mechanism is a healthy and important concept, but it is not guaranteed and must be debated. We must identify potential loopholes, flaws, and perverse side effects.
-<span id="open-call"></span>
+A major perverse effect to study is affordability in developing nations. If the subscription reaches CHF 3 per month, it might represent 3% of the monthly income for someone earning less than $100 a month, which could become a barrier to entry.
-== A dedicated Open Call (draft) ==
-The question is intended to be handled through a dedicated [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Calls:Main|Open Call]], which is currently a draft and is not yet launched or announced. When launched, it would collect:
-* proposals for the mechanism itself (principle, percentage, conditions),
+Because of these implications, this topic is the subject of a dedicated Wave 2 [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Calls:Main|Open Call]]. This reflection must take place and conclude before the end of Prototype 1, so the community can decide whether and how to implement this 5% annual value increase as the multiplier drops in Prototype 2.
-* scientific and economic analyses of the positive and negative impacts of an annual percentage increase on rewards.
-A launch date, and a possible deadline, would be announced later.
-<span id="why-over-time"></span>
-== Why the question grows over time ==
-The bonding curve multiplier is intended to decrease as funding rounds progress. An indicative sample trajectory (hypothesis, to be confirmed):
-* Round 1: from ×100 down to ×30 (current prototype)
-* Round 2: from ×30 down to ×10
-* Round 3: possibly from ×10 down to ×2
-* Round 4: from ×2 down to ×1.1
-The lower the multiplier, the more relevant an annual percentage increase on rewards could become. For example, a ×1.1 multiplier is only a 10% potential gain, which could be little over ten years. This is why the Open Calls are planned for a later stage, not for the first prototype.
-<span id="framing"></span>
-== Why this framing ==
-This page intentionally avoids presenting the increase as a fixed contractual promise. Rewards remain potential ceilings, paid only from real subscription income, with no guarantee. The principle and the percentage remain open until the Open Calls process concludes.
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