TLDR: MOBIX Park & Charge heralds a new era for MOBIX: new utility and new user groups! To allow for providing new users around the globe with MOBIX tokens, a network upgrade is coming on January 15th, 2024 which will enable a yearly inflation rate of 3% for the MOBIX token which is the same as for the FET token.
Astute observers of the Fetch.ai ecosystem may have noticed that a plan has been set in motion for a new network upgrade called “Municipal Inflation”. This is an upgrade that will enable the MOBIX token (MOBX) to have the same economic characteristics in terms of inflation as the FET token already does. In terms of functionality, this means that a fixed yearly inflation rate of 3% of the current total supply will start flowing to this address after the planned network upgrade on January 15, 2024, at 12:00 UTC. This inflation will be divided across all the blocks per year.
The upgrade will occur once all the Fetch.ai validators have agreed upon the governance proposal intended to go live at or around January 8, 2024, 12:00 UTC. Once the technical preparations have been made, just as with any other network upgrade there will be a network downtime after which the changes will be live on the mainnet. The network upgrade is anticipated to be ready for prime time on January 15, 2024, at approximately 12:00 UTC.
These changes are pending approval by the overall validator set via a governance vote. Still, we want to inform the MOBIX community early so that everyone is ready in good time for the upgrade.
Now – why is the Municipality Inflation upgrade being carried out at all? Is it a purely technical reason or is there more to it than that? Here you go:
Why MOBX Sustainability & Growth – Municipal Inflation Upgrade?
This change provides the basis for the expansion of the MOBIX ecosystem to many many more users – in fact, a completely new user group – with the introduction of MOBIX Park & Charge. Besides micromobility users, (EV) drivers will be able to use and profit from the MOBIX app. Additionally, it provides more funding for the sustainability of MOBIX rewards for staking and eco-friendly mobility usage (trips and charging) far into the future.
MOBIX Park & Charge
MOBIX Park & Charge lets you access privately owned parking spaces and charging points with just a few taps on the app. MOBIX expands the public parking environment and the public EV charging network by including privately owned parking spaces and charging points, increasing available charging spots by up to 10 times. These private charging points complement the existing public charging stations, giving EV drivers more options to charge their vehicles. The addition of private parking makes it easier to find a parking space near your destination, reduces the need for endless drives around the block, and thus reduces CO2 emissions drastically (up to 80% of CO2 emissions in cities are the result of searching for parking places).
Besides the new options to reserve and book parking spaces and charging points, you can provide your parking spaces and charging points! In economic terms, it means, you can use MOBIX Park & Charge as a consumer and as a producer – and become a so-called prosumer.
All in all, MOBX Sustainability & Growth – Municipal Inflation Upgrade – is an expansion of options for how to park and charge your vehicle paired with expanded options for incentivizing eco-friendly mobility and is powered in part by the municipal inflation update. The MOBIX team is working on the Park & Charge update which will be ready for closed beta group testers early in 2024!