Peercoin (PPC): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Own layer-1 blockchain, based on Bitcoin's codebase
- Maximum supply
- No true supply cap; the 21 million MAX_MONEY constant in the code is only a precaution
- Risks and caveats
- There is no hard supply cap; new PPC is issued continuously through proof-of-work and proof-of-stake, with inflation the project estimates at about 1-3% a year.
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- PPC
- Official site
- peercoin.net home page
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.
What is Peercoin
Peercoin (PPC), originally called PPCoin, is a cryptocurrency launched on 19 August 2012 by Sunny King and Scott Nadal and the first to introduce proof-of-stake consensus. It is based on Bitcoin and combines proof-of-stake for security with SHA-256 proof-of-work for coin distribution.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Own layer-1 blockchain, based on Bitcoin's codebase |
| Consensus | Hybrid: proof-of-stake secures the chain; proof-of-work distributes new coins |
| Proof-of-work algorithm | Double SHA-256, so Bitcoin mining hardware can mine PPC |
| Launched | 19 August 2012, 18:00 UTC, with no premine |
| Block time | About 10 minutes; 6 confirmations recommended |
| Staking (minting) maturity | Coins must age 30 days (about 4,320 blocks) before they can mint; coin age is capped at 90 days |
| Transaction fee | Fixed fee of 0.01 PPC per kB, burned rather than paid to block producers (as of 31 October 2026) |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | No true supply cap; the 21 million MAX_MONEY constant in the code is only a precaution |
| Proof-of-work reward | Block subsidy falls as difficulty rises: it halves for every 16x increase in difficulty |
| Staking rewards | Proof-of-stake reward of 3% of the minting coins plus 0.25 PPC per block (RFC-0018) |
| Inflation | Project docs estimate total annual inflation of about 1-3% (one docs page gives ~2.4%) |
| Fee burn | Transaction fees are destroyed, which offsets part of new issuance |
| Initial distribution | No premine or ICO; coins were distributed through proof-of-work mining |
What PPC is used for
- Paying fixed transaction fees, which are burned.
- Minting (staking) new proof-of-stake blocks to secure the network and earn rewards.
- Voting on protocol rules: minters choose which protocol version their nodes run.
- Wrapping into wPPC tokens on Ethereum and Polygon through the project's bridge.
Who develops and governs Peercoin
- Founders
- Sunny King and Scott Nadal (2012)
- Foundation
- Peercoin Foundation, a non-profit set up in 2025 to support education and development
- Legal entity
- Peercoin Foundation, San Mateo, California, United States; entity no. B20250199422
- Governance
- No governing body; protocol changes are adopted by node operators and minters
- Open source
- Reference client on GitHub under the MIT licence
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19 August 2012 | Peercoin's chain started, with no premine; launch announced nine days earlier. |
| — | Introduced by Sunny King as PPCoin (peer-to-peer coin) and renamed Peercoin shortly after. |
| 22 January 2019 | Protocol v0.7 hard fork, including rounding transaction fees up to 0.001 PPC (RFC-0007). |
| 15 May 2020 | Protocol v0.9 hard fork adjusted PoS rewards, PoW block spacing and capped effective coin age at one year. |
| 2 October 2021 | Protocol v0.11 hard fork removed transaction timestamps and capped the PoW reward. |
| 1 February 2022 | Protocol v0.12 hard fork pruned zero-value outputs and eased PoW difficulty when PoW blocks are overdue. |
| 2025 | Peercoin Foundation established as a non-profit in the United States. |
| 18 October 2026 | Peercoin client v0.15.2 released. |
Security and audits
- Central checkpoints signed by developers were long criticised; support for centrally broadcast checkpoints was removed from the official client in version 0.10.
- Newly minted or mined coins stay locked for 520 confirmations (about 3.6 days) to prevent spoofed minting.
Security incidents
Incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so none is listed here.
Official PPC contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum (wPPC) | 0x044d078F1c86508e13328842Cc75AC021B272958 |
| Polygon (wPPC) | 0x91E7E32C710661C44ae44D10Aa86135d91C3Ed65 |
PPC is native to the Peercoin blockchain; these are the wrapped Peercoin (wPPC) token contracts listed on peercoin.net.
Risks and caveats
- There is no hard supply cap; new PPC is issued continuously through proof-of-work and proof-of-stake, with inflation the project estimates at about 1-3% a year.
- Coins must sit unspent for 30 days before they can mint, and newly minted coins are locked for 520 blocks, so staked funds are not instantly liquid.
- wPPC on Ethereum and Polygon is a synthetic token created through the project's bridge, which adds bridge risk compared with holding native PPC.
Official links
- Website: peercoin.net home page
- Source code: GitHub: peercoin/peercoin
- Docs: docs.peercoin.net home page
- Block explorer: blockbook.peercoin.net home page
- Governance forum: talk.peercoin.net home page
Questions and answers
What is Peercoin?
Peercoin (PPC), first called PPCoin, is a Bitcoin-based cryptocurrency launched on 19 August 2012 and the first to use proof-of-stake, combined with proof-of-work for distribution.
Can you mine Peercoin?
Yes. Peercoin uses double SHA-256 proof-of-work, so Bitcoin mining hardware can mine it; holders can also mint new blocks by staking coins that are at least 30 days old.
Who created Peercoin?
Sunny King and Scott Nadal proposed Peercoin in 2012. Since 2025 a US non-profit, the Peercoin Foundation, supports its development; the network itself has no governing body.
What is the maximum supply of Peercoin?
There is no true supply cap; the 21 million MAX_MONEY value in the code is only a precaution, and the project estimates inflation at about 1-3% a year.
What are Peercoin's transaction fees?
Fees are fixed at 0.01 PPC per kB and are burned with each transaction (as of 31 October 2026).
Sources
- Peercoin — GitHub README (reference client)
- Peercoin — latest release v0.15.2
- Peercoin docs — Introduction (source)
- Peercoin docs — FAQ (source)
- Peercoin docs — Proof-of-Stake (source)
- Peercoin docs — Mining (source)
- Peercoin docs — Distribution and block rewards (source)
- Peercoin docs — Burned and fixed fees (source)
- Peercoin docs — Protocol changelog (source)
- peercoin.net — site text (English locale)
- peercoin.net — Foundation address
- peercoin.net — Wrapped PPC contracts
More in this section
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- Lido (LDO)
- Sky Protocol (SKY)
- All Crypto projects →
Related
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
- Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF)
- Qtum (QTUM)
- Babylon (BABY)
- Lombard (BARD)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Namecoin (NMC)
- Stacks (STX)
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