The maximum supply of PSL is fixed at 21,000,000,000. At the time of the network launch, the total supply generated was 10,750,192,399 PSL (Genesis Block) or ~50% of the max supply. The vast majority of the total supply is held by long-term investors, partners, developers, and the foundation for distribution across the ecosystem and contractually under a long-term lock up (see Distribution). As such, the circulating supply is ~2.6BN PSL or ~25% of the total supply.
The current emission (see “Emission Schedule” below) accounts for the creation of 6,250 PSL every block ( “Block Reward”). Pastel has opted for a targeted block time of 2.5 Minutes / Block. Similarly to the block halving in the Bitcoin network, the Block Reward is halved every 840,000 blocks. Instead of using the SHA-256 mining algorithm, Pastel uses the well-tested Equihash algorithm that is used by Zcash, which has cheaply available ASIC mining hardware.
The Block Reward is distributed across key stakeholders and network participants. Miners provide invaluable computational power to secure the network through Proof of Work, while Supernode operators stake collateral (5,000,000 PSL) and delegate computation for the function and validation of key network services. Pastel also encourages participants to vote on the allocation of resources to support the longevity of the network through a governance mechanism.