> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.zecblocks.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.zecblocks.xyz/protocol-rules.md).

# Protocol rules

## Supply

ZEC BLOCKS has a hard maximum supply of **5,000**.

Valid token IDs are:

```
1 ... 5000
```

A token can have only one canonical first valid claim.

After 5,000 valid unique claims have been accepted, new mining claims are permanently closed. Transfers and marketplace activity may continue.

## Canonical ordering

When multiple ZB-1 events compete, clients process them in canonical chain order:

1. Block height ascending
2. Transaction index ascending
3. Protocol message index ascending

The v1 reference implementation uses one ZB-1 message per event transaction unless a later published v1 encoding rule explicitly defines otherwise.

## First valid claim wins

For a token that has not yet been claimed, the earliest confirmed ZB-1 claim in canonical order that satisfies every v1 validation rule becomes the canonical claim.

Later competing claims for the same token are ignored by compliant clients.

## Immutability

The following values are intended to be immutable for ZB-1 v1:

* 5,000 max supply
* Token IDs 1–5,000
* SHA-256 mining
* 26-bit difficulty
* `GENESIS_MINUS_TOKEN_ID`
* `BITMAP_V1`
* First 500 claims with zero protocol claim fee
* Claim #501–#5,000 protocol fee of 130,000 zatoshi
* 3% ZB-1 marketplace protocol fee