EOS RAM Allocation - Reading Assignment

[filip]

Welcome to the discussion about this reading assignment.

Leave your answers to the questions below in this thread. If you have any questions or you want to discuss something connected to the assignment feel free to do it in this thread as well, but please everything to the topic.

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?

[JDC]

1. Dapp will stop running.
2. Dawn 4 allows the value of EOS staked for RAM to float to the market rate for EOS.
3. There is incentive to un stake EOS for RAM when the market value for EOS is increasing. This would free up RAM. Not sure what happens when market value of EOS is dropping?
4. See second part of answer 3 above. Also as RAM is used up RAM prices go up requiring higher staking price to use RAM. This causes inflation in the RAM staking system. Good ole game theory at work. In a market driven model it is hard to predict how the greedy nature of human beings will affect the markets.

[james1]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   If a dapp runs out of RAM, it prevents some operations to be carried out. For example, inserts or perhaps new smart contracts could not be deployed.

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   4.0 Introduction of new Bancor trading algorithm. Under the Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid. Now there is a dynamic market based allocation.

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   The benefits of a market based model for RAM staking is fair pricing and more effective resource utilization (in theory), reducing hoarding and optimizing price.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   The drawbacks of a market based model for RAM staking include speculation and manipulation. Also, allocation of funds collected through trading fees may need consideration or continuously burn EOS tokens from the RAM contract to offset inflation.

[Christian_Lawson]

The Dapp will stop running
Dawn 4 allows the value of EOS staked for RAM to float to the market rate
There is incentive to unstake EOS for RAM when the market value is increasing. This would free up RAM.
As RAM is used up, RAM prices go up requiring higher staking price to use RAM. This causes inflation in the RAM staking system. In a market driven model it is hard to predict how the nature of human beings will affect the markets.

[Colin]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   Some operations will not be carried out and smart contracts would not deploy.

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   A switch to a market based allocation approach rather than the price paid approach.

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   It should provide more balance over time in terms of supply and demand of RAM allocation.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   As more dApp developers join, and more data is needed to be stored for a long time, more RAM used is extracted out of the market, making RAM more and more expensive.
   Also
   Irrational behaviour of speculators on RAM will likely push RAM prices high, making it expensive for dApp developers to buy the resources they need, and thus deteriorating the ecosystem.

[Spindelmamman]

What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
Smart contracts can not be deployed because there might be operations that are unable to be processed.

What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
Dawn 3.0 = Token holders sell RAM for the same price they paid.
Dawn 4.0 = Use Bancor algorithm that are marked based allocation.

What are the benefits of having a market based model for RAM staking?
More balanced pricing and reducing hoarding of RAM allocation.

What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
As more developers for dApps join the RAM will be more expensive. Speculators might push RAM high and expensive for developers. It will also cause a waste of RAM resources.

[YellowCake]

1. Some actions may not happen, and smart contracts may not be deployed.
2. In 3.0, you could only sell ram for what you paid. In 4.0 , RAM market switched to using the Bancor algorithm, which is a market maker style system.
3. It provides an incentive to unstake ram as the price increases…maybe
4. Speculation hinders development by increasing the costs of RAM for intended use cases.

[Michael_Murphy]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   That Dapp will not function. From what I understand, certain functions might be operations, but any RAM based functions will not.

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   The staking went from fixed price “returns” vs market price returns. As in, when the programmer decides to reduce the stake, they get the latest rate (in Dawn 4.0) which might be higher or lower than when they originally staked their coins.

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   It prevents hoarding. With a pegged rate, there’s nothing to lose by withdrawing your stake.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   If the price of EOS goes up, the programmer might choose to leave their stake in place, which will consume resources. There’s no incentive for the developer to withdraw their stake.

[Baidis]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   They need to get more ram or that part of the dapp just won’t run.

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   Fixed vs variable pricing model.

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   When the market is going up and demand is going up there is incentive to sell for gains.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   People can hold ram and speculate it’s future price when they don’t even need it.

Why does ram not have a fee that grows over time if it sits unused? So there is an incentive model of all ram to be used ram?

[cryptojay]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
Some operations are unable to carry out and smart contracts can’t be deployed.

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
Under Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid. Under Dawn 4.0, it’s using market driven allocation through Bancor algorithm.

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
Prior to that, there could be wasted and unused RAM which is bad for developers who need RAM. With market based model, the Bancor algorithm enables free market to set the price of RAM, hence RAM can be freed up to developers who need it.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
As more dApp developers join, and more data needed to be stored for a long time, more RAM used is extracted out of the market, making RAM more and more expensive. The speculators’ irrational behavior on RAM will push RAM high, making it expensive for dApp developers to buy the resources they need, and thus deteriorating the ecosystem.

[tornalis]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   • some dapp operations will fail, and smart contracts won’t execute
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   • Dawn 4.0 uses the new Bancor algorithm which is a market based allocation instead of token holders selling RAM for the same price they paid
3. What are the benefits of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   • more balanced pricing long term, discourages hoarding
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   • speculators may hold RAM and push prices up while making it unused/wasted for actual dapp use

[Hani]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   When RAM is insufficient for a dApp, some operations are unable to carry out and smart contracts cannot be deployed.
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   Under the Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid, just as the other resources. EOS switched to a market-based allocation approach using the Bancor algorithm from Dawn 4.0.
3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   More efficiency in the allocation of the RAM, it give to the EOS RAM staker incentives to un-stake the non utilized RAM capacity for a “fair” price
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   Speculation on the Market Price of the cost of the RAM capacity and As more dApp developers join, and more data needed to be stored for a long time, more RAM used is extracted out of the market, making RAM more and more expensive.

[ruthstruth]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
   Some operations may not work in the dapp and contracts may not be deployed.
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
   Using the Bancor algorithm, users are involved in a market based approach to selling RAM.
3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
   The market based model incentivizes users to sell their staked RAM to free this memory for other purposes
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
   More users may drive up the prices or RAM due to scarcity

[Nando]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
Some operations will be unable to carry out and smart contracts cannot be deployed.
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
Under Dawn 3.0 token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid. Under Dawn 4.0 the process can be done with a market-based approach using the Bancor algorithm.
3. What are the benefits of having a market based model for RAM staking?
Developers can receive capital gain form un-staking their RAM.
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?
strong textRAM could be more and more expensive while more dApp developers join. RAM speculation.

[Rorey]

What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?

When RAM is insufficient for a dApp, some operations are unable to carry out and smart contracts cannot be deployed.

What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?

The big change in EOS RAM Allocation Model is in EOSIO Dawn 4.0. Under the Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid.

What are the benefits of having a market-based model for RAM staking?

With the market-driven model, a dApp developer can receive capital gain from un-staking his RAM, and therefore willing to free the resources.

What are the drawbacks of having a market-based model for RAM staking?

As more dApp developers join, and more data is needed to be stored for a long time, more RAM used is extracted out of the market, making RAM more and more expensive.

[Navi]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?
When RAM is insufficient for a dApp, some operations are unable to carry out and smart contracts cannot be deployed.
2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?
The big change in EOS RAM Allocation Model is in EOSIO Dawn 4.0. Under the Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid, just as the other resources.
3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?
With the market-driven model, someone who has staked their EOS taken to get RAM, can receive capital gain from un-staking his RAM, and therefore willing to free the resources.
4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?

• As demand increases, it makes RAM more and more expensive.
• Wastage due to unused RAM as speculators stakes it for future gains.

[Buddboy1]

What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?

When RAM is insufficient for a dApp, some operations are unable to carry out and smart contracts cannot be deployed.

What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?

Under the Dawn 3.0 system contract, token holders can only sell RAM for the price they paid, just as the other resources. EOS switched to a market-based allocation approach using the Bancor algorithm from Dawn 4.0.

What are the benefits or having a market-based model for RAM staking?

With the market-based model, you can receive capital gain from un-staking your RAM, and therefore there is greater incentive to free unneeded resources.

What are the drawbacks of having a market-based model for RAM staking?

You could end up with a lot less than you paid for your RAM is the price goes down.

[dodikk]

1. What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?

They would have to purchase more RAM by staking some EOS tokens

2. What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?

RAM selling price limitation has been removed (it had to be the same as purchase price), so the price is regulated by the free market (since v4.0)

3. What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?

The developers are encouraged to free up RAM if they no longer need it. Meaning, they get a reasonable amount of EOS tokens back (which means they get back the invested money). So there is no reason to own the RAM without actually using it.

4. What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?

RAM prices can be speculated which makes the network more vulnerable to social engineering attacks (with economical origin).

[bridgdora]

What would happen if a dapp runs out of RAM?

some operations would fail and smart contracts would not be deployed.

What was the change between Dawn 3.0 and Dawn 4.0 in terms of the RAM market?

In 3.0 token holders could only sell their ram for the price they paid, whereas in the Dawn 4 model, this is market-based.

What are the benefits or having a market based model for RAM staking?

One problem it solves is the disincentivation for developers. If their dApp doesn’t go, then they might lose big money if they wantt o unstake theor tokens. Conversely, the developer could receive capital gains from his/her efforts in the market-based model.

What are the drawbacks of having a market based model for RAM staking?

It could theoretically incentivize hoarding and speculation.

[Bill]

1. Dapp stops running.
2. 3.0 was cost based and 4.0 is market based. 3.0 is fixed and 4.0 allows the value to float.
3. More balanced pricing which discourages hoarding.
4. Encourages speculation in RAM pricing.