A Zero-Fee, Treasury-Pegged Settlement Protocol for Programmable Money, Payments, and Loyalty Author: Big Joe - Founder, NHBCoin | bigjoe@nehborly.net
Abstract
Legacy digital payments are held back by opaque fees, multi-day settlement, and fragmented loyalty. Prior cryptocurrencies accelerate transfers but introduce unpredictable costs, volatility, and UX complexity. NHBCoin presents (i) a zero-fee, treasury-pegged Layer 1 network, (ii) instant, fraud-resistant finality via Proof-of-Time-Spent-Online (PoTSO), and (iii) a no-code loyalty engine with fungible, cross-merchant rewards. We formalize the protocol’s design, price logic, security model, regulatory path, and ecosystem integration, demonstrating how NHBCoin closes the gap between blockchain theory and real-world commerce.
1. Introduction
“Volatility is a feature for speculators and a bug for merchants.”
Despite technical advances, crypto payments have not replaced traditional rails due to unpredictable fees, price swings, and poor UX. NHBCoin was designed for commerce - not speculation - by offering instant, zero-fee settlement, deterministic pricing, and a loyalty model that actually works across merchants.
2. Design Principles & Innovations
Zero Network Fees: All transfers, no matter the volume, settle at $0.00 cost to the user or business.
Treasury-Pegged Price: Every NHB is fully backed by on-chain-audited reserves. Pt = TUSD, t / Sprotocol
Sub-Second Settlement: Blocks close in <1s via PoTSO consensus.
Verified-Recipient Layer: No more lost funds to address errors - wallets are mapped to verified emails/usernames.
Native Loyalty Engine: Rewards programmable in JSON, instantly redeemable across apps and merchants.
3. Comparison to Existing Protocols
Bitcoin
Ethereum
USDT
NHBCoin
Avg Fee
$1–$10
$4–$40
Varies
$0.00
Settlement
10–60 min
1–5 min
Varies
<1s
Volatility
High
High
Medium
None
Onboarding
Seed phrase
Gas/Dapp
Exchange KYC
Email
Core Use
Store of value
Smart L1
USD proxy
Payment/Loyalty
4. Treasury-Pegged Pricing
Price Formula: Pt = TUSD, t / Sprotocol
Treasury Composition: USD cash, T-bills, and stablecoins, verifiable by Merkle proofs and monthly SOC-2 audits.
Supply: 1B NHB (fixed); only earned via usage or peer trade.
No ICO/VC: Circulation based on protocol participation, not presale allocations.
Redemptions: Transparent, real-time, on-chain. External bridge to wNHB maintains DEX liquidity in a ±0.5% NAV band.
5. Consensus: Proof-of-Time-Spent-Online (PoTSO)
Validator Selection: Based on continuous, BLS-signed heartbeats (2Hz); not stake.
NHBCoin merges zero-fee payments, deterministic pricing, and portable loyalty into a programmable, eco-efficient, and formally verified protocol. This blueprint solves the core regulatory, commercial, and technical barriers facing global digital money.
Appendices & References
A. Price Variance Bound: As adoption grows, volatility vanishes (see math).
B. Monte Carlo Treasury Stress: Insolvency probability <0.2% at 5σ shock.
C. PoTSO Liveness: <1s block time under real-world conditions.
D. Energy Profile: ARM SoCs, 0.004kWh/tx.
E. DEX Liquidity Sim: $1M swap, <5bps slippage.
References
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
Centre Consortium. (2018). USDC Whitepaper.
Lamport, L. (2019). Specifying Systems. Addison-Wesley.