Joke: The Case for Ending Ethereum Inflation!

It turns out, Vitalik wasn't exactly joking.

Sure, that might be what most people thought when ethereum's creator published a controversial proposal on April Fool's Day, but the post has prompted a very real, very serious conversation about whether the underlying economics of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency should be altered.

In fact, in the weeks since the concept was first floated, dialogue has only gotten more heated about the idea that a limit could be placed on the total number of ether, ethereum's cryptocurrency, that could ever be created. And while it's long been a contentious topic (there isn't currently a cap), the rate at which new coins are being introduced into the market has been growing.

Buterin appears aware of the concern, citing "economic sustainability" as the reason he wants to stop creating new ether when 120 million are introduced. In fact, he believes limiting the market supply to exactly that figure, twice the number of ether sold in the platform's 2014 ethereum fundraising, could help long term.