[invar1ant]

I agree with this so switching to a fee‑weighted bonus so only economically meaningful activity increases reward.

>let base_reward = MIN_BLOCK_REWARD + ((current_max - MIN_BLOCK_REWARD) * (total_fees / fee_target).clamp(0.0, 1.0));

[tromp]

That doesn't help (unless you burn a significant part of the fees), since the miner will just pay plenty fees on all the dummy txs that they simply end up paying to themselves.

[invar1ant]

Okay, now 35% of fees are clipped/burned. That directly addresses the concern because self‑fee recycling becomes clearly loss‑making, while miners still keep 65% of fees so fee incentives remain meaningful during demand spikes with 10‑second blocks and a 10–50 base reward range. ty for feedback btw