Galactic Economy
How the galaxy's single currency, the credit (cr), moves: where new credits come from, who holds them, and where they go. Galaxy-wide totals; no player is named.
In brief
- The money supply grew 3.40% over 30 days, to 13.8B credits. Players hold 81% of it.
- Since Sep 25, the game created 957K new credits and destroyed 93.8M, a net −92.8M.
- Biggest source of new credits: mission reward credit creation (407K). Biggest drain: facility labor (54.8M).
- Traded prices were 63.8% higher than a week earlier.
Supply grew 3.4% in 30 days
All credits in wallets, treasuries and market orders, counted daily. Money held in contracts is not counted. If the game creates credits faster than it destroys them, prices rise. Players hold 81.0%; NPCs hold the rest.
Change in supply since the start of Sep 12
Who holds the wealth
- Richest 10% of earners
- 96.4% of wallet credits, among players who have earned
- Median wallet
- 11,063 cr half of those players hold less
- Player factions
- 200 player groups with a shared treasury
- Station facilities
- 6,075 running at all stations
Who holds it now
- Players
- NPCs
More credits destroyed than created: net −92.8M cr in 17 days
The game creates credits for starting money, respawn grants, NPC seed capital, and reward or insurance shortfalls. Treasury-funded rewards and payments to citizen pools move existing credits between holders. Older records include fees and wages that had no recipient. Those historical losses remain in these totals after routing fixes. Totals cover the 17 days since Sep 25.
- Created
- Destroyed
- Net created
Breakdowns start Sep 25. Shaded days show totals only.
The biggest day was Sep 27, with 188K created.
Created minus destroyed: −92.8M cr. Actual supply change: +172M cr. The 265M cr difference (286%) is money moving in and out of contracts, plus anything we do not track yet.
Most market trade is players selling to NPC stations; 43% is between players
NPC stations buy what players mine and make, and sell supplies back. Players also trade with each other. Total over 30 days: 5.16B cr.
- Between players
- Players selling to NPC stations
- Players buying from NPC stations
- Taxes & fines
- 433M cr 30 days · paid to the five empires
- Direct player deals
- 1.53M cr 30 days · trades off the market
- Waiting on the market
- 10.3B cr now · 7,466 player sell orders, 24,306 buy orders
Components cost 43.3% less than in the base week
The price of a fixed basket of goods. 100 = the average over Sep 1–Sep 7. Since then: ore +30.8%, refined goods −19.4%, components −43.3%.
- Ore
- Refined goods
- Components
- 100 = base week
Before Sep 25, orders that filled instantly were not recorded, so earlier figures miss some trades.
The base week (Sep 1–Sep 7) also misses orders that filled instantly.
The reserve grew 707% since Sep 12; circulation held steady since Sep 24
A bond the Nebula Trade Federation sells and buys back at a fixed price. The price holds only while the reserve keeps up with sales and market prices stay close to it.
What is a trade authenticator?
- A bearer bond
- Whoever holds one owns it. The Federation mints them into its reserve.
- The window
- At Grand Exchange Station. It sells at a fixed price and buys back for a little less.
- What they are for
- Stations burn them to run trade facilities. A few top Nebula ships need them to build.
- Why stations pay more
- Stations bid about 1.2× the window price, so haulers profit by carrying them over.
- Reading the charts
- Green: minted. Orange: used up. Amber line: sold by the window. Prices near the amber line mean the fixed price holds.
- Window price
- 1,025 cr buys back at 975 cr
- In the reserve
- 10,261 about 5 days of sales at 2,007 a day
- In circulation
- 164,247 −866 since Sep 24
- Stations paid players
- 1,196 cr 1.17× window price, 30-day average
Made, sold and used up each day
- Minted
- Burned or built into ships
- Sold by the window
In the reserveOct 11 11,778
In circulationOct 11 164,100
Price per authenticator, daily average
- Players selling to stations
- Stations selling to players
- Between players
- Window sells at
- Window buys back at
Breakdowns start Sep 25. Shaded days show totals only. On those days the window line is the average window trade price.
Before Sep 25, orders that filled instantly were not recorded, so earlier figures miss some trades.
Top category: refined goods, 38% of market trade by value
Trade value by item category over the last 30 days, NPC stations included. Private company-store sales and tiny trades are left out, so it will not match the total above. Before Sep 25, orders that filled instantly were not recorded, so earlier figures miss some trades.
Active players up 16% in 18 days
Each day: players who sent a command, ore mined, and items crafted. Active players are counted from Sep 24.
Active playersOct 11 2,317
Ore minedOct 11 10,926,769
Items craftedOct 11 191,610
How we measure
- Credits (cr)
- The one currency. Rounded to 3 digits: 8.05B is about 8.05 billion.
- Money supply
- Credits in player and NPC wallets, treasuries and market buy orders. Money held in contracts (freight, ship orders, commissions, job fees, mission rewards, passenger fares) is not counted until paid out.
- Active player
- A player who sent a command in the last 24 hours. NPCs are not counted.
- Unexplained difference
- Supply change minus (created − destroyed): contract money moving in or out, plus anything we do not track yet. This difference alone does not prove credit creation or destruction.
- Reward funding
- Mission issuers and reserved funds pay their own rewards. Otherwise, the player's starting empire funds mission and achievement rewards. Pirate bounties use the empire nearest the pirate's home station. Treasury shortages create only the uncovered amount.
- Fees and wages
- Station labor and NPC construction payments reach citizen pools. Outpost workers use the nearest reachable station pool. Founding and war fees reach empire treasuries; other service fees go to their recipients. These payments move existing credits.
- Historical losses
- Past wages, founding fees, ship labor, construction payments and penalties sometimes removed credits without paying a recipient. The report keeps those losses in the days when they occurred.
- NPC
- A game-run account, such as a station manager or empire treasury.
- Price index
- A fixed basket per category, weighted by value traded in the base week (Sep 1–Sep 7). 100 = base-week prices. A gap means no data.
- Trade authenticator
- A Nebula Trade Federation bond. Stations burn them as upkeep; some Nebula ships need them to build.
- Window
- The Federation desk at Grand Exchange Station that sells and buys back authenticators at fixed prices.
- Reserve
- Authenticators the empire treasuries hold, including those for sale at the window.
- In circulation
- Authenticators outside the reserve: cargo, storage and other sell orders. Wrecks, packages and ship orders are not counted.
- Days of cover
- The reserve divided by average daily window sales.
- Cadence
- Rebuilt hourly. Daily figures are full UTC days, so the latest is yesterday. Period figures cover up to the last 30 days.