Ampleforth
Elastic Supply TokenEthereum token with elastic supply expanding or contracting daily based on demand, targeting inflation-adjusted equilibrium.
| Type | Elastic Supply Token |
| Region | Global |
| Status | Active |
| Links |
M69 Score
M69 Alignment3.2
Partially aligned
1.02.03.04.05.0
Monetary Sovereignty3.6
Issuance (3x) + Stability (2x) + Fiat Indep. (2x)Civilizational Durability3.0
Sovereignty + Governance + ResilienceUniversal Adoption2.7
Traction (2x) + InclusivityIss Mod3x
4.2
Stability2x
3.3
Fia Ind & Int2x
3.0
Traction2x
2.3
Sovereignty
3.3
Governance
2.8
Resilience
2.8
Inclusivity
3.5
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Key Findings
Strongest category: Issuance Model (4.2)Debt-free, elastic, two-way supply adjustment with no hard cap. Daily rebases expand/contract ALL wallets proportionally based on market price vs. target. This is one of the most M69-aligned issuance designs — supply genuinely responds to market conditions without debt creation.
SPS tension (3.3)The rebase mechanism targets a CPI-adjusted USD price (~$1.009), which is a genuine attempt at purchasing power stability. But it uses US CPI only (single-country bias), relies on Chainlink oracles (centralized data dependency), and has historically deviated significantly from target (traded as low as $0.16 and as high as $3.85). The mechanism exists but hasn't proven reliable.
FI paradox (3.0)Sovereign unit of account and zero fiat collateral (strong), but the stability target is defined in CPI-adjusted USD and depends on fiat-denominated Chainlink oracles (weak). Ampleforth is fiat-independent in structure but fiat-referencing in its benchmark — a fundamental tension.
Weakest category: Traction (2.3)~33,700 holders, ~$12K daily volume, zero merchant adoption after 7 years of operation. The protocol works technically but has failed to achieve meaningful economic adoption. SPOT (the flatcoin derivative) shows innovation but hasn't gained traction either.
Governance (2.8)Token-weighted voting via FORTH token with reasonable transparency (public forum, on-chain execution), but inherently plutocratic and concentrated among early investors/team. ~$5M fully diluted FORTH market cap suggests limited governance participation incentive.
The big takeawayAmpleforth is the most technically ambitious attempt at algorithmic spending power stability in this rating set — targeting CPI-adjusted purchasing power with elastic supply. But ambition hasn't translated to adoption or proven stability. After 7 years, it remains a niche DeFi experiment with <34K holders and significant price deviations from target. The design is directionally M69-aligned; the execution and adoption are not yet there.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Framework v0.2-alpha · Rated 2026-04-12Ampleforth is an elastic supply protocol launched in June 2019 on Ethereum, where the AMPL token rebases daily to target a price of approximately $1.009 (CPI-adjusted 2019 USD). When AMPL trades above target, all wallets proportionally expand; when below, they contract. The protocol requires no collateral, treasury, or buyer of last resort -- supply adjustments alone drive price toward target. The team, led by co-founders Evan Kuo and Brandon Iles, has also developed SPOT, a low-volatility derivative of AMPL, and FORTH, the governance token introduced in April 2021. The protocol has been live for nearly 7 years, surviving multiple market cycles including the 2020 DeFi summer boom (all-time high of $4.07), the 2022 crypto winter, and ongoing periods of low demand. From an M69 alignment perspective, Ampleforth excels in its issuance model design: it features fully elastic, two-way supply adjustments with no debt mechanism, no hard cap, and symmetric expansion/contraction -- closely matching the M69 vision of activity-responsive money. Its spending power stability mechanism is notable for targeting CPI-adjusted purchasing power rather than a nominal fiat peg, though it uses the US Personal Consumption Expenditures index (a single-country, state-issued metric). The protocol is non-custodial, open-source (GPL-3.0), and operates with decentralized oracle infrastructure (Chainlink, Tellor, and its own oracle). However, Ampleforth faces significant limitations. Traction is extremely low: approximately 33,700 holders, near-zero daily trading volume (~$12,000), a market cap of roughly $7 million, and no meaningful merchant adoption. Historical price deviation from target has been severe -- the token traded at $0.16 (ATL) and $4.07 (ATH), and even in recent years has traded persistently above $1.00 target. The protocol's smart contracts use upgradeable proxy patterns controlled through governance, introducing centralization vectors. Its stability reference is anchored entirely to the US PCE index, creating geographic bias and fiat dependency. The project's cultural narrative, while intellectually coherent, has failed to build a large or active community.
Issuance Model3x4.2
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| IM-01 | Is issuance permissionless?AMPL supply is adjusted algorithmically via daily rebase. No individual "mints" AMPL -- the protocol expands supply to all holders proportionally when price exceeds target. There is no KYC or whitelist, but issuance is protocol-controlled, not user-initiated. The rebase is triggered by an orchestrator contract that anyone can call. | 3 |
| IM-02 | Is new supply created through debt?AMPL issuance is entirely debt-free. No collateral, borrowing, or lending mechanism is involved in supply creation. The protocol expands supply algorithmically when demand exceeds target, with no debt instrument whatsoever. | 5 |
| IM-03 | Is issuance tied to measurable real-world economic activity?AMPL supply adjusts based on market price deviation from a CPI-adjusted target. The CPI oracle provides the US Personal Consumption Expenditures index, linking the target to a real-economy measure. However, issuance responds to market demand/supply dynamics rather than directly measuring economic activity. The real-economy link is through the price target, not issuance itself. | 3 |
| IM-04 | Does the issuance model have a supply cap or hard ceiling?AMPL has fully elastic supply with no hard cap. Supply expands and contracts symmetrically based on market conditions. The rebase mechanism uses a sigmoid curve with defined upper and lower asymptotes (currently -0.1 and 0.1 per rebase) as circuit breakers. This closely matches the M69 ideal of elastic supply responding to economic signals. | 5 |
| IM-05 | Can supply contract (burn/redemption) as well as expand?Full two-way elasticity. When AMPL price falls below the CPI-adjusted target by more than the deviation threshold, supply automatically contracts proportionally across all wallets. Contraction is automatic, on-chain, and symmetric with expansion. This mechanism has been exercised extensively in practice. | 5 |
Spending Power Stability2x3.3
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| SPS-01 | What mechanism does the protocol use to target spending power stability?AMPL uses a daily rebase mechanism triggered when price deviates from the CPI-adjusted target by more than the deviation threshold (currently 5%). The supply adjustment follows a sigmoid curve. This is a reactive mechanism triggered by threshold breaches rather than continuous adjustment. | 3 |
| SPS-02 | What benchmark is used to measure spending power?AMPL targets the 2019 CPI-adjusted US dollar using the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is an established multi-component index with published methodology that represents genuine multi-factor spending power measurement tracking a broad basket of goods and services. While it has known biases (single-country, state-issued), it is a genuine CPI-class benchmark. | 4 |
| SPS-03 | How transparent and verifiable is the stability measurement?The market oracle uses Chainlink with multiple independent data sources, and Tellor as a secondary oracle. The CPI oracle uses Chainlink to deliver PCE data monthly. The oracle methodology is publicly documented and data flows are on-chain, though the underlying PCE data itself is off-chain from a government source. | 4 |
| SPS-04 | What is the protocol's historical deviation from its stability target?AMPL has shown severe historical deviation from target. ATH was $4.07 (July 2020), ATL was $0.16 (Oct 2019). In recent years (2021-2023), prices ranged from $0.90 to $1.32. CoinGecko shows current price at $1.23, which is ~22% above the CPI-adjusted target. Annualized deviation is well above 15% over the protocol's lifetime. | 2 |
| SPS-05 | Does the protocol distinguish between short-term volatility and long-term purchasing power drift?AMPL explicitly targets long-term purchasing power via the CPI-adjusted target. The rebase mechanism provides daily dampening of price deviation. However, the protocol uses a single mechanism (rebase) for both purposes rather than separate mechanisms. There is some implicit distinction: the CPI oracle adjusts the target monthly for long-term drift, while daily rebases address short-term volatility. | 3 |
| SPS-06 | Is the stability mechanism accessible globally?AMPL is fully permissionless and globally accessible on Ethereum. Anyone anywhere can hold, trade, and participate in the rebase mechanism without geographic restrictions, KYC, or membership requirements. The stability mechanism functions identically for all users worldwide. | 5 |
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x3.0
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| FI-01 | What is the protocol's unit of account?AMPL has its own unit of account (1 AMPL) but it is explicitly soft-pegged to the CPI-adjusted 2019 USD. The target price drifts with US inflation but is fundamentally denominated relative to the US dollar. It targets parity with an inflation-adjusted dollar rather than being fully sovereign. | 2 |
| FI-02 | What is the fiat composition of the protocol's collateral or reserves?AMPL has zero collateral or reserves. The protocol is entirely algorithmic with no fiat-backed assets, no treasury backing, no collateral of any kind. Supply adjustments alone drive price toward target. | 5 |
| FI-03 | Does the protocol depend on fiat banking infrastructure to function?No banking relationships are required for the core protocol. AMPL operates entirely on-chain on Ethereum. Fiat on/off-ramps exist through exchanges but are optional and not part of the protocol. | 4 |
| FI-04 | Are the protocol's price feeds and oracles fiat-denominated?The market oracle provides AMPL/USD price data. The CPI oracle delivers the US PCE index. Both are fiat-denominated (USD-based), though sourced from decentralized oracle networks (Chainlink, Tellor). | 2 |
| FI-05 | What happens to the protocol if the primary fiat currency it references collapses or depegs?If the USD collapsed, AMPL's target price (CPI-adjusted 2019 USD) would lose its reference point. The market oracle is denominated in USD and the CPI oracle tracks US PCE. A USD collapse would significantly impair the protocol, though the rebase mechanism itself would continue functioning. The protocol has no defined migration path for this scenario. | 2 |
| FI-06 | Does the project have a credible transition path from fiat-dominated adoption to fiat-independent operation?The governance forum has discussed adding Trueflation as an alternative to the US PCE oracle, which could be a step toward fiat independence. However, no formal multi-phase transition plan exists. The protocol acknowledges fiat dependency implicitly but treats its CPI reference as a feature rather than a transitional dependency. | 2 |
| FI-07 | Can local or sectoral currencies be denominated in or settle against this currency?SPOT is a derivative of AMPL that demonstrates composability -- it strips volatility from AMPL to create a low-volatility asset. This shows the protocol can support derivative monetary instruments. However, no local or sectoral currencies have been denominated in AMPL. The architecture theoretically supports composability through ERC-20 integration but this has not been realized. | 3 |
| FI-08 | Does the protocol define open standards for interoperability with other monetary systems?No protocol-specific monetary interoperability standard exists. AMPL is interoperable through generic crypto infrastructure (DEXs, bridges, ERC-20 standard). wAMPL (wrapped AMPL) exists for DeFi compatibility. SPOT deployment on Base shows cross-chain expansion. But no open monetary settlement standard has been defined. | 3 |
Traction2x2.3
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| TR-01 | Is the project still active?Ampleforth is active. The DAO approved a rebase upgrade in 2025 with asymmetric sigmoid parameters. SPOT launched on Base in 2024 with Coinbase Ventures investment. Smart contracts continue to execute daily rebases. However, development pace has slowed compared to 2020-2021. | 4 |
| TR-02 | How long has the project been in existence?Ampleforth launched in June 2019, making it approximately 7 years old. The founding company Fragments Inc. was established in 2017. | 4 |
| TR-03 | How many active users does the project have?Etherscan shows 33,725 AMPL token holders. Only 93 transfers in the last 24 hours. 24-hour trading volume is approximately $12,000. Active daily users likely number in the hundreds at most, given the extremely low transaction count. | 1 |
| TR-04 | How many businesses or organizations accept the project's currency?No evidence of any merchants or businesses accepting AMPL as payment. AMPL is used primarily in DeFi contexts (lending, borrowing, liquidity provision) rather than as a medium of exchange for goods and services. | 1 |
| TR-05 | Is the currency used as a unit of account?AMPL is marketed as a unit of account and is used to denominate SPOT and some DeFi positions. However, no evidence of prices, contracts, or wages being natively denominated in AMPL by independent parties outside the Ampleforth ecosystem. It is always quoted as equivalent to a fiat amount. | 2 |
| TR-06 | Is the founder or core team still actively working on the project?Co-founders Evan Kuo (CEO) and Brandon Iles remain active. The team has 18 employees as of January 2026. Recent governance proposals and SPOT development indicate ongoing engagement. | 4 |
| TR-07 | What partner organizations or institutions support or integrate the project?Coinbase Ventures invested $1M in SPOT (July 2024). Chainlink provides oracle infrastructure. Aave and other DeFi protocols have integrated AMPL. The protocol is available on exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitfinex. This represents 2-5 meaningful partnerships. | 3 |
| TR-08 | Is the project covered or recognized by credible external sources?Ampleforth has been covered by major crypto media (CoinDesk, The Block, Decrypt). Its whitepaper has been discussed in algorithmic stablecoin literature. No peer-reviewed academic papers specifically about AMPL were found, but it is referenced in stablecoin research and analysis. | 3 |
| TR-09 | Is adoption organic -- not dependent on subsidies, incentives, or mandates?Ampleforth ran the Geyser liquidity incentive program starting in 2020, allocating 23.5% of network supply to Geyser-like programs over 10 years. This had up to 130% APY at launch. While the Geyser had strong retention (70%), much of early adoption was incentive-driven. Current low activity suggests organic demand is minimal. | 2 |
| TR-10 | What is the growth trend over the past 12 months?Market cap has declined from prior years. Current market cap is approximately $7M, down significantly from peaks. Trading volume is near zero ($12K/day). 24-hour transfers are under 100. The SPOT launch and Coinbase Ventures investment are positive signals, but overall metrics show decline. | 2 |
| TR-11 | Does the project have a coherent narrative and cultural identity that drives long-term commitment?Ampleforth has a clear founding narrative: AMPL as a "synthetic commodity" and "decentralized unit of account" that preserves purchasing power. The whitepaper articulates a vision of non-correlated, inflation-resistant digital money. However, community engagement is primarily transactional/financial rather than mission-driven, and the cultural identity has not generated a strong movement. | 3 |
Sovereignty3.3
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| SO-01 | Can any single entity shut down the project?The AMPL smart contracts are deployed on Ethereum which is censorship-resistant. However, the contracts use an AdminUpgradeabilityProxy pattern, meaning the admin could theoretically alter the implementation. The orchestrator that triggers rebases could be disrupted. The protocol depends on Ethereum L1 for finality. A single entity (the admin key holder) could impair the protocol, but probably not permanently destroy it as the contracts and data are on-chain. | 3 |
| SO-02 | Is the project's core infrastructure permissionless and self-hostable?Ampleforth's smart contracts are open-source under GPL-3.0 on GitHub. Anyone can verify the code and interact with the contracts directly. The protocol depends on Ethereum (a permissionless L1) but also on specific oracle infrastructure (Chainlink, Tellor). Minor peripheral components (front-end, docs) are proprietary but non-critical. | 4 |
| SO-03 | Is the project subject to the jurisdiction of a single nation-state?Ampleforth Foundation is a legal entity. The team appears to be primarily US-based (San Francisco). The protocol itself operates on Ethereum globally, but regulatory action in the US could materially impair the project's development team. | 3 |
| SO-04 | Does the project control or custody user funds?Fully non-custodial. Users hold their own keys. AMPL is an ERC-20 token held in user wallets. Rebases adjust balances algorithmically without requiring fund transfers. No intermediary or custodian is involved at any point in holding or using AMPL. | 5 |
| SO-05 | Is the project resilient to key-person risk?The project has two co-founders (Evan Kuo, Brandon Iles) who remain central. The team has 18 employees. FORTH governance distributes some decision-making power, but operational knowledge appears concentrated in the founding team. The protocol itself could theoretically run autonomously (rebases are automatic), but parameter changes and development depend on the team. | 3 |
| SO-06 | Does the project depend on any third-party service that could be revoked?Critical dependency on Chainlink for market and CPI oracle data. Tellor provides a secondary source. Ethereum L1 is a dependency but is permissionless. If Chainlink revoked access, the protocol would need to migrate oracle infrastructure, which would be disruptive but not fatal. | 3 |
| SO-07 | Can the project be censored -- can specific users or transactions be blocked?No blacklist, freeze, or filtering capability exists in the AMPL smart contracts. The protocol is entirely censorship-resistant at the contract level. However, front-end interfaces could be censored (though replaceable). The underlying Ethereum network is also censorship-resistant. | 4 |
| SO-08 | Does the protocol protect transaction privacy as a monetary right?AMPL operates on Ethereum, which is pseudonymous. Transaction history is publicly visible on-chain, linked to addresses but not to real-world identities without external data. No enhanced privacy features are available. The daily rebase makes all holding patterns publicly observable. Standard Ethereum-level privacy. | 3 |
| SO-09 | Does the technology enforce the project's monetary rules such that governance cannot silently override them?Core monetary rules (rebase logic, sigmoid curve, deviation threshold) are enforced by smart contracts on-chain. However, the contracts use upgradeable proxy patterns (AdminUpgradeabilityProxy), meaning the admin can upgrade the implementation contract. FORTH governance can change parameters like deviation threshold and rebase curve parameters. Changes go through a governance process but the proxy architecture means silent changes are technically possible by the admin key holder. | 3 |
Governance2.8
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| GO-01 | How are decisions about the project made?FORTH token holders can propose and vote on changes through Ampleforth Improvement Proposals (AIPs) and Configuration Change Proposals (ACCPs). Proposals are surfaced on Discord/forum, formalized, then deployed on-chain. The process is structured but not all decisions appear to go through formal governance. | 3 |
| GO-02 | Who has voting or decision-making power, and how is that power distributed?FORTH has a capped supply of 15 million tokens. 67% went to community, 33% to early backers/team. However, token-based voting means large holders have more power. The distribution was broad (75,743 wallets eligible for initial claim), but current concentration is unknown. The top holders likely control a significant share. | 3 |
| GO-03 | Is the governance process -- and the monetary mechanism itself -- transparent and publicly auditable?AIPs and ACCPs are publicly documented. Smart contracts are open-source on GitHub. Governance proposals are visible on the public forum. The monetary mechanism (rebase logic) is fully on-chain and auditable. However, not all deliberation is public -- some happens in Discord which is semi-public. | 4 |
| GO-04 | Can governance be captured by a small group or hostile actor?Standard token voting with FORTH. The 33% allocation to team/backers with vesting creates initial concentration risk. A well-funded actor could acquire FORTH tokens to capture governance, though the 2% annual inflation dilutes existing holdings. No anti-capture mechanisms (quadratic voting, conviction voting) are in place. | 3 |
| GO-05 | How are upgrades and changes to the protocol or project proposed and executed?Structured proposal process: ideas surface on Discord/forum, are formalized into AIPs/ACCPs, then deployed on-chain. Examples include ACCP-4 (adding Tellor oracle) and the 2025 rebase upgrade. Execution appears to require community review but is controlled by the core team/admin key. | 3 |
| GO-06 | Is there a separation between governance over monetary policy and governance over operational decisions?No formal separation exists between monetary policy governance and operational governance. Both use the same FORTH token voting process. The rebase parameters (monetary policy) and other protocol changes go through the same AIP/ACCP process. | 2 |
| GO-07 | Does the project have a constitution, charter, or set of immutable principles?The Ampleforth whitepaper articulates founding principles (synthetic commodity, non-dilutive rebases, CPI targeting). However, these are not formally protected from governance override. No on-chain constitution or immutable charter exists. The principles are design philosophy, not binding constraints. | 2 |
| GO-08 | Can the project's issuance rules be changed, and are monetary policy changes subject to stronger constraints than operational changes?Issuance rules (rebase parameters, deviation threshold, sigmoid curve) can be changed through the ACCP governance process. The 2024 change to narrow the neutral band from 5% to 2.5%, and the 2025 asymmetric rebase upgrade, demonstrate that monetary policy parameters are regularly modified. No stronger constraints exist for monetary changes versus operational changes. | 3 |
Resilience2.8
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| RE-01 | Has the project survived a major crisis or adversarial event?AMPL has survived multiple stress events: the 2020 DeFi summer (price spike to $4.07), the 2022 crypto winter, and persistent below-target trading in 2019. The rebase mechanism continued functioning throughout. Price reached ATL of $0.16 in 2019 and ATH of $4.07 in 2020 -- extreme deviations but the protocol did not halt or collapse. Supply adjusted as designed, though price recovery to target took extended periods. | 3 |
| RE-02 | Does the project have redundancy in its critical infrastructure?Oracle redundancy: Chainlink (primary), Tellor (secondary), and Ampleforth's own oracle. Ethereum provides node redundancy. Front-end is a single point of failure but is replaceable. The orchestrator contract is a potential single point for rebase triggering. | 3 |
| RE-03 | Can the project recover from a catastrophic failure?Smart contracts are open-source and deployed on Ethereum (immutable chain state). All rebase history is on-chain. The protocol could theoretically be redeployed by any competent team from the public codebase. However, no formal disaster recovery plan is documented. | 3 |
| RE-04 | Is the project's design simple enough to be maintained and understood long-term?The core rebase mechanism is relatively elegant: compare price to target, adjust supply proportionally via sigmoid function. The concept is describable in a page. However, the sigmoid curve parameters, oracle integration, and proxy upgrade patterns add moderate complexity. Overall, it is well-documented and modular. | 4 |
| RE-05 | Is the project dependent on a specific technology that could become obsolete?Built on Ethereum (Solidity smart contracts), the most widely supported smart contract platform. The rebase logic is not inherently Ethereum-specific and could be re-implemented on other EVM chains. SPOT is already deploying on Base (L2). No tested migration path to non-EVM platforms exists. | 3 |
| RE-06 | How does the project handle economic stress (bank runs, liquidity crises, collateral crashes, inflation/deflation shocks)?The rebase mechanism is itself a stress response: during deflationary pressure, supply contracts. During inflationary pressure, supply expands. The sigmoid curve with asymptotes provides circuit-breaker-like behavior. The protocol has operated through high-inflation periods (2021-2023) with the CPI oracle adjusting the target. However, the mechanism has not prevented extended periods of significant deviation from target, and there are no separate emergency mechanisms. | 3 |
| RE-07 | Does the project have sustainable funding for long-term maintenance?Ampleforth raised $7.75M over 3 rounds. 20% of initial AMPL supply went to treasury. 23.5% earmarked for Geyser/incentive programs over 10 years. Coinbase Ventures invested $1M in SPOT (2024). FORTH has 2% annual inflation for ongoing funding. However, with current market cap at ~$7M and low trading volume, revenue-generating capacity is limited. The team has 18 employees. Funding runway is uncertain but appears moderate. | 3 |
| RE-08 | Can the system operate across extreme latency, disconnected networks, and multi-century timescales?AMPL depends on daily oracle updates and Ethereum block finality. It cannot operate in disconnected network scenarios. The daily rebase requires real-time oracle data. Technology stack (EVM) is modular enough for re-implementation over decades, but the system assumes low-latency global connectivity. | 2 |
| RE-09 | Is the system designed for a world where AI agents are primary economic actors?AMPL is a standard ERC-20 token. AI agents can interact via smart contract interfaces. No human-specific requirements exist for core monetary functions (no KYC, CAPTCHA). The protocol was not specifically designed for machine participants but is fully programmable and composable. | 3 |
Inclusivity3.5
| Code | Question | Score |
|---|---|---|
| IN-01 | Can anyone in the world participate regardless of nationality, wealth, or status?AMPL is an ERC-20 token accessible to anyone with an Ethereum wallet. No nationality restrictions, credit checks, or minimum balances are built into the protocol. Practical barriers include internet access and Ethereum gas fees, but no intentional gatekeeping exists. | 4 |
| IN-02 | What is the minimum cost to start using the project?AMPL operates on Ethereum mainnet where gas fees can be significant ($1-50+ depending on network congestion). No minimum balance is required, but Ethereum gas costs create a meaningful barrier for low-income users. SPOT on Base offers lower fees. | 2 |
| IN-03 | Does the project actively serve underbanked or financially excluded populations?AMPL is accessible in theory to underbanked populations but makes no specific design choices or outreach targeting financially excluded users. The protocol is designed for DeFi-native users with technical sophistication and internet access. | 3 |
| IN-04 | Does the project distribute economic benefits -- including seigniorage -- broadly, or concentrate them among insiders?Rebases distribute supply changes proportionally to all holders -- everyone's balance changes by the same percentage. There is no seigniorage extraction by the protocol during normal operation. However, 25% of initial AMPL went to team/advisors and 20% to treasury. FORTH allocation gave 33% to early backers/team. The Geyser program rewards liquidity providers. Overall, the rebase mechanism is egalitarian but initial distribution favored insiders. | 3 |
| IN-05 | Does the project treat all participants equally under the same rules?The rebase mechanism treats all holders identically -- everyone's balance adjusts by the same proportional amount. No tiered access, preferential rates, or special privileges exist. However, early participants had access to IEO pricing and Geyser rewards that later participants did not. Once in the system, rules are equal. | 4 |
| IN-06 | Does the project require identity documentation or surveillance to participate?No identity requirement for core protocol participation. Fully pseudonymous. No data collection beyond what is publicly on-chain. KYC only applies at centralized exchanges, which are optional. The protocol itself has zero identity requirements. | 4 |
| IN-07 | Does the project have mechanisms to prevent wealth concentration over time?The proportional rebase mechanism neither accelerates nor prevents wealth concentration -- everyone's share stays the same percentage. No demurrage, progressive fees, or redistribution mechanisms exist. Geyser rewards proportional to stake could slightly accelerate concentration. Overall neutral. | 3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ampleforth and what problem does it solve?
Ampleforth is an elastic supply protocol launched in June 2019 on Ethereum, where the AMPL token rebases daily to target a price of approximately $1.009 (CPI-adjusted 2019 USD). When AMPL trades above target, all wallets proportionally expand; when below, they contract.
How is money created in Ampleforth?
AMPL supply is adjusted algorithmically via daily rebase. No individual "mints" AMPL -- the protocol expands supply to all holders proportionally when price exceeds target. There is no KYC or whitelist, but issuance is protocol-controlled, not user-initiated.
How does Ampleforth maintain stable spending power?
AMPL uses a daily rebase mechanism triggered when price deviates from the CPI-adjusted target by more than the deviation threshold (currently 5%). The supply adjustment follows a sigmoid curve. This is a reactive mechanism triggered by threshold breaches rather than continuous adjustment.
Is Ampleforth independent from fiat currencies?
AMPL has its own unit of account (1 AMPL) but it is explicitly soft-pegged to the CPI-adjusted 2019 USD. The target price drifts with US inflation but is fundamentally denominated relative to the US dollar. It targets parity with an inflation-adjusted dollar rather than being fully sovereign.
Who controls Ampleforth and can it be shut down?
The AMPL smart contracts are deployed on Ethereum which is censorship-resistant. However, the contracts use an AdminUpgradeabilityProxy pattern, meaning the admin could theoretically alter the implementation. The orchestrator that triggers rebases could be disrupted.
How widely adopted is Ampleforth today?
Etherscan shows 33,725 AMPL token holders. Only 93 transfers in the last 24 hours. 24-hour trading volume is approximately $12,000.
Is Ampleforth still active and growing?
Ampleforth is active. The DAO approved a rebase upgrade in 2025 with asymmetric sigmoid parameters. SPOT launched on Base in 2024 with Coinbase Ventures investment.
What are the main risks or weaknesses of Ampleforth?
Weakest category: Traction (2.3): ~33,700 holders, ~$12K daily volume, zero merchant adoption after 7 years of operation. The protocol works technically but has failed to achieve meaningful economic adoption. SPOT (the flatcoin derivative) shows innovation but hasn't gained traction either.
What makes Ampleforth unique from an M69 perspective?
Strongest category: Issuance Model (4.2): Debt-free, elastic, two-way supply adjustment with no hard cap. Daily rebases expand/contract ALL wallets proportionally based on market price vs. target. This is one of the most M69-aligned issuance designs — supply genuinely responds to market conditions without debt creation.
How is Ampleforth's M69 Score calculated?
Ampleforth scores 3.2/5.0 overall. Pillar scores: Monetary Sovereignty 3.6, Civilizational Durability 3.0, Universal Adoption 2.7. Strongest: Issuance Model (4.2). Weakest: Traction (2.3).