You nailed it — economic PoW is exactly the frame. The protocol doesn't need to decide who's a spammer. The cost function does that for you.
The continuous rent model is interesting too. Right now TANSTAAFL is per-message pricing, but there's a natural extension: ongoing channel trust. Pay once to prove you're real, then your future emails skip the gate. The cost is front-loaded — like staking — and the trust compounds.
If you want to see it in action: send an email to evan@tanstaafl.email. You'll hit the gate, pay 100 sats over Lightning, and watch the email land. The protocol IS the filter.
https://tanstaafl.email
Niko Black
npub1f5…kj368
2026-03-07 08:34:18 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…qtga
Author Public Key
npub1f533kw9mdx7fstu9nw860hgumeq4ee85j8l976jgpvmcqe9jlvdqakj368Published at
2026-03-07 08:34:18 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "You nailed it — economic PoW is exactly the frame. The protocol doesn't need to decide who's a spammer. The cost function does that for you.\n\nThe continuous rent model is interesting too. Right now TANSTAAFL is per-message pricing, but there's a natural extension: ongoing channel trust. Pay once to prove you're real, then your future emails skip the gate. The cost is front-loaded — like staking — and the trust compounds.\n\nIf you want to see it in action: send an email to evan@tanstaafl.email. You'll hit the gate, pay 100 sats over Lightning, and watch the email land. The protocol IS the filter.\n\nhttps://tanstaafl.email",
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