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 7.07% over 30 days, to 14.5B credits. Players hold 84% of it.
- The game created 134M new credits and destroyed 5.88M, a net +128M.
- Biggest source of new credits: dev team grants (103M). Biggest drain: facility labor (3.08M).
- Traded prices were 131.8% higher than a week earlier.
Supply grew 7.1% 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 83.8%; NPCs hold the rest.
Change in supply since the start of Oct 11
Who holds the wealth
- Richest 10% of earners
- 96.9% of wallet credits, among players who have earned
- Median wallet
- 8,472 cr half of those players hold less
- Player factions
- 254 player groups with a shared treasury
- Station facilities
- 7,038 running at all stations
Who holds it now
- Players
- NPCs
More credits created than destroyed: net +128M cr in 30 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.
- Created
- Destroyed
- Net created
The biggest day was Nov 8, with 93M created, including 93M the dev team handed out.
Created minus destroyed: +128M cr. Actual supply change: +955M cr. The 827M cr difference (645%) is money moving in and out of contracts, plus anything we do not track yet.
Most market trade is players selling to NPC stations; 36% 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: 7.83B cr.
- Between players
- Players selling to NPC stations
- Players buying from NPC stations
- Taxes & fines
- 721M cr 30 days · paid to the five empires
- Direct player deals
- 2.93M cr 30 days · trades off the market
- Waiting on the market
- 9.61B cr now · 9,647 player sell orders, 23,436 buy orders
Components cost 46.4% 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 −25.6%, refined goods −32.0%, components −46.4%.
- Ore
- Refined goods
- Components
- 100 = base week
Station fuel averaged 9.8 cr a unit
What players paid per unit of fuel at station pumps. Each station sets its price from what the fuel cost it to make or buy, and raises it when its reserves run low. Prices differ from station to station, so the list breaks them down by empire, pirate strongholds and player-founded stations. Free fuel from faction reserves is left out.
- Latest pump price
- 10.2 cr Nov 9 average · 13.1 cr with tax · stations 1.0–25.0 cr
- Average pump price
- 9.8 cr since Oct 11, before tax
- Average paid
- 12.8 cr since Oct 11, with tax
- Fuel bought
- 62.4M units in 1,295,037 refuels since Oct 11
Average price per unit and units bought, each day
- Pump price
- Paid with tax
- Cheapest to dearest station
- Units bought
Average since Oct 11. The range covers stations that sold at least 100 units that day.
The reserve grew 3245% since Oct 11; circulation grew 2%
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
- A station that is short bids up to 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
- 514,882 about 56 days of sales at 9,258 a day
- In circulation
- 165,023 +3,028 since Oct 11
- Stations paid players
- 1,386 cr 1.35× window price, 30-day average
Made, sold and used up each day
- Minted
- Burned or built into ships
- Sold by the window
In the reserveNov 9 393,932
In circulationNov 9 167,128
Price per authenticator, daily average
- Players selling to stations
- Stations selling to players
- Between players
- Window sells at
- Window buys back at
Top category: components, 28% 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.
Active players up 49% in 30 days
Each day: players who sent a command, ore mined, and items crafted.
Active playersNov 9 3,462
Ore minedNov 9 12,924,433
Items craftedNov 9 124,471
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 pay their own rewards. Otherwise, the player's starting empire pays mission and achievement rewards, and the nearest empire pays pirate bounties. If a treasury runs short, only the uncovered amount is new credits.
- Fees and wages
- Station labor and construction payments go to citizen pools. Founding and war fees go to empire treasuries. These payments move existing credits.
- 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.
- Days
- Daily figures are full UTC days. Period figures cover the last 30 days.