There are some interesting perhaps non-intuitive conclusions. They mention some of them in the non-technical summary or AMA:
1. An increase in the cost of mining implies a reduction in the coin value. Some have claimed that mining cost or energy cost backs the value of a coin given its cost of creation (or similarly, the claim that botnets reduce the coin value since their cost of mining is lower), but this appears not only wrong, but backwards.
I never understood why people would not understand this intuitively, like anything else it's scarcity and desirability that creates the balance of a market all the cost can do is provide a baseline.
2. ASICs increase hash rate security (and therefore coin value) but may reduce it due to reduced miner decentralization, so the effect is ambiguous (and depends on the relevant, and generally unknown, constant factors). Of course, the Monero community is aware of the second consideration, given the recent decision to fork out ASICs, but the ambiguity may be under appreciated. Personally I find it quite troubling and would prefer a way to win on both sides rather than grapple with a potentially intractable tradeoff.
I don't think the bolded can ever be possible. And I venomously disagree with ASICs increasing a coins value I would say quite the opposite. Bitcoin is a one off aberration that it's descendants can never me modeled upon as it's creation, adoption and community are and were all unique. Trying to use it as a model is a fools errand and is oblique to anything that follows.
3. There are multiple equilibria in any coin, one being the coin price at zero (so no mining rewards, no security, no value., etc.) This may be obvious but we don't see it much. However, it appears to reinforce the notion that a coin can completely fail.
I think I would have to read what the hell they were referring to with this one, it looks like there is no context unless they mean "yeah they all start at zero as an idea". Yet even then Some Idea's are far more valuable than others, all whitepapers =/=.
4. Non-linearity can produce price and hash rate spirals. If someone spikes the price (say Roger Ver buying into Monero in 2016) and the hash rate follows, this can improve perceived security and perceived value to the point where the new value is self-sustaining. Perhaps this can occur by hash rate increases as well (even potentially due to ASICs or botnets joining the network). I guess this can happen in the other direction too (possibly leading to complete failure, i.e. #3?)
Sure, ETH is a fine example. This is a premise that certainly should not have to be supported by anything other than common sense.
5. There is an optimal inflation rate that is not zero. Some amount of inflation subsidizes mining which increases the hash rate and then coin value so it is therefore self-supporting. This has been alternately stated many times in the past as avoiding the free rider problem where holders who do not transaction still benefit from mining security. It is actually quite obvious to most people who understand economics but remains highly controversial among Bitcoiners.
True and is continuously debated not for it's merits but for personal gain. Change the distribution rate/ tail emission I'm not cashing in quick enough. Lol
Reminder: As with most if not all of economics, this is only an idealized model, and doesn't necessarily accurately represent reality. Lessons may be learned from it, and they may be valuable, but they risk being wrong if the model is wrong.
Standard disclaimer in gobbleeze.