Global PLEX Market and Friction-Free Trade

[p]Powerful capsuleers, [/p][p][/p][p]EVE Online is fundamentally about creation, trade, destruction, and the friendships forged along the way. Our strategy leans into the themes of Ultimate Science Fiction, Strong Organizations, Future of War, and Unbridled Agency, threads that run through everything we build in the game. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Through Unbridled Agency in particular, we aim to support personal ambition in a hyper-capitalistic future society, where players freely choose their path, express personal and group identity, and shape the universe through their actions. Player organisations run the show, as on the battlefields, so on the tradefields, fully embracing the omni-progression of the sandbox MMO.[/p][p][/p][p]So today, we want to share the next chapter in our economic vision for New Eden, one centered around friction-free trade, fairer access to utility goods, and the future of PLEX as a liquid currency that powers gameplay and EVE Online’s free-to-play business model. [/p][p][/p][p]TLDR:   A major update to PLEX trading is coming soon with the introduction of a Global PLEX Market, a new global market region integrated into the existing market, allowing capsuleers to buy and sell PLEX from anywhere in New Eden. This friction-free system aims to boost liquidity, enable a fair market equilibrium, and support EVE's evolving economy. As part of the release to Tranquility, all existing orders will be cancelled and fees reimbursed. The exact date will be announced ahead of release. [/p][p][/p][h2]Framing the Vision: A Healthier Economy for New Eden [/h2][p]The long-term goal is to ensure the EVE economy works for everyone: veterans, newcomers, and everyone in between. This means reducing artificial barriers, minimizing rent-seeking behavior, and improving access to goods that support your progression, convenience, and identity in the game.  [/p][p][/p][p]As stewards of New Eden's economy, CCP acts as both custodian and regulator, a central bank of sorts. And just like central banks in the real world, we care about economic health, access, and stability, tirelessly working on reducing economic friction and uncertainty. [/p][p][/p][p]PLEX plays a foundational role in this system. But over time, as discussed in a previous blog, its function has drifted. It’s increasingly treated as a long-term investment or speculative asset, rather than a flexible, fluid currency meant to empower player choice. That dynamic distorts pricing, limits access, and creates artificial scarcity that benefits a few at the expense of many. [/p][p][/p][p]We’re committed to fixing that, without resorting to harsh measures like inventory taxes, price hikes, or product removals. Instead, we're focused on system-level changes that move us closer to a healthy, fair market equilibrium. [/p][p][/p][h2]A Philosophy Rooted in Progression, Convenience, and Identity [/h2][p]Every change made is grounded in EVE's core monetization pillars: [/p]

• [p]Progression – enabling you to move forward at your own pace [/p]
• [p]Convenience – making essential systems intuitive and accessible [/p]
• [p]Identity – giving you meaningful ways to express who you are [/p]

[p]This philosophy has guided past changes such as: [/p]

• [p]Introducing soulbound MCT to reduce hoarding and speculation [/p]
• [p]Making Skill Books globally accessible to support new players and those specializing in their chosen careers [/p]
• [p]Taking early steps toward regulated LP trading [/p]
• [p]Unlocking a path for Artisan SKINdustrialists, enabling careers in personalization via SKINs, logos, and design assets [/p]
• [p]Making select Expert Systems tradable on the Regional Market [/p]

[p]Each of these steps has helped remove friction and outdated bottlenecks that no longer serve the modern EVE experience. [/p][p][/p][h2]Friction-Free Trade and the Value Chain [/h2][p]At the heart of EVE is its player-driven economy, a web of interconnected value chains. Every feature should strive to be a part of it while being exposed to ever-present risk, from exploration and harvesting of raw materials, to industrial research and production, to hauling and trade, to solo PvP and massive fleet fights. Every step adds value, creates emergent gameplay, and generates derived opportunities across and within that ecosystem, rare loot for explorers, margins for industrialists and in the end satisfaction to the end user. Trading then drives the value exchange of labor across multiple currencies. [/p][p][/p][p]But not all goods in EVE follow the same lifecycle, there are a lot of moving parts in this value exchange. Over time, we’ve developed internal classifications for the various types of economic objects in New Eden. Let’s break it down a bit: [/p]

• [p]Player-Made Goods  Ships, modules, rigs, boosters - anything manufactured and value-added by you from the ground up. These items reflect skill, risk, and market interaction, with the desired and expected utility, fairly estimated item value, and transparent price. [/p]
• [p]Utility Goods  Items like PLEX, Skill Books, MCT, Skill Extractors, and Expert Systems, introduced by CCP and tradable, when not soulbound. They carry little to no player-added value, yet often generate profit through arbitrage and speculative investment. This is not part of the value chain - it extracts margin without contributing. These goods should be as accessible as their utility demands, which means eliminating unnecessary trading friction. Skip to the next chapter if we’ve got your attention here 😉 [/p]
• [p]Digital Goods  These represent identity and expression: apparel, logos, CCP-made SKINs and design elements. Many digital goods suffer from limited discoverability because they are treated like physical items. And here there is an important distinction between physical goods, the manufactured items that need to be hauled, fitted, and may be lost, versus personalization assets that confer no combat advantage by being available on-demand in the universe. If you want to swap a logo, put on leather boots and a pair of sunglasses, or find a legacy SKIN you’ve always dreamt of on the market without spending an hour acquiring it, you should be able to.  [/p]
• [p]Singletons  A term for player-made items that have a unique identity. These include artisan SKINs, abyssal rolled (mutaplasmid-mutated) items, packaged ship fittings, and more. Artisan SKINs are traded in Paragon Hub, while others are currently traded through contracts, and their complexity limits trade volume. By elevating these items and making them easier to discover and use, we can drive those specific value chains, such as blueprint research and invention, abyssal, and more. Paragon Hub plays a huge role in this, with its vision of becoming an intuitive, easy-access platform for trade, for things that are, in many ways, an overhaul of Contracts from a user interaction and experience point of view. It’s intended not only for trade goods, but also for ideas, concepts, and support materials that are often hard to find. These can also be player-made guides and useful objects such as Ship Fittings and Skill Plans, where the Hub can act as a modern browsable and searchable e-commerce platform, with voting, favorites, recommendations, and eventually even third-party integration. While we’re not replacing Contracts anytime soon, our long-term vision is to connect systems like Contracts and the Market with Paragon Hub, giving you better tools to find and share what you need. [/p]
• [p]Currencies and quasi-currencies  ISK, LP, PLEX, and Skill Points are not only used for trade but are also traded themselves. The long-term goal is to support regulated currency exchange with depth and liquidity, eliminating the need to manually wrangle multiple orders or exploit Contracts to avoid fees. [/p]

[p]Each category comes with its own challenges. We prioritize reforms based on their friction, economic impact, and player feedback. Which category causes the most friction for you? Let us know on Discord, the forums, in space, or through your elected CSM representative. [/p][p][/p][h2]Friction-Free Trade for PLEX [/h2][p]PLEX is unique in gaming history. From its inception to its role as New Eden’s foundational currency, it represents one of the boldest experiments in player-driven economy design, and CCP’s commitment to supporting it. PLEX is also a cornerstone of EVE’s free-to-play model and the most frequently traded utility item. However, its market is not as effective as we would like, due to several factors: [/p]

• [p]It’s a safety investment, much like gold, having both intrinsic and extrinsic value, being the only item in the game directly tied to real-world currencies. [/p]
• [p]It lives in the Vault and is usable from anywhere, but could only be bought regionally. [/p]
• [p]It behaves like a currency in design, but like a speculative asset in practice. It does not bear any cost of capital, CCP has no interest rates on debt, wealth taxes, nor inventory costs, and there is no competition for investment like the stock market or bond markets. [/p]
• [p]Its market is shallow, clustered in trade hubs like The Forge, Domain, Metropolis, Sinq Laison, and Heimatar. [/p]
• [p]It’s simply the easiest and best way to store capital, in both the short and the long run. [/p]

[p]We’ve started increasing PLEX supply through Daily Goals, events, and other means, but one structural issue remained: capsuleers couldn’t easily buy or fairly sell PLEX outside major hubs. [/p][p][/p][h2]The Solution: Introducing the Global PLEX Market [/h2][p]Later this summer, we will be launching a region-agnostic market for PLEX. That means: [/p]

• [p]All PLEX buy and sell orders are pooled into a global region, a single virtual location accessible from everywhere; no travelling required. [/p]
• [p]Bought PLEX is still delivered to your Vault, no hauling needed, as before. [/p]
• [p]Location and standings based listing tax and fees won’t change for now[/p]
• [p]Trading from private structures will remain the same for now (you can only trade/sell/buy within that structure)[/p]

[p]This will make it much easier to acquire PLEX from anywhere, whether it's to buy Omega, manufacture SKINs or buy anything from the New Eden Store, while making it much likelier that there is a competitive market for those who want to sell their PLEX, especially in smaller amounts. We expect this change to: [/p]

• [p]Boost PLEX liquidity [/p]
• [p]Enable conditions that move us closer to a healthy, fair market equilibrium[/p]
• [p]Encourage broader PLEX adoption across the game [/p]
• [p]Reduce price disparities and improve availability [/p]

[p]We recognize that this change will reduce some regional arbitrage and speculation opportunities, but we believe the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, so we will closely monitor the outcomes and be prepared to adjust as needed.[/p][p][/p][p]IMPORTANT: As part of the release to Tranquility, all existing orders will be cancelled and fees reimbursed. The exact date will be announced ahead of release. [/p][p][/p][p]We believe that there are more ways to reduce overall trade friction in New Eden, and we will continue to explore those. The Global Market for PLEX is both a stepping stone and a learning opportunity, which always goes well together, with your feedback shared on Discord, the forums, or wherever you fly. Come join the conversation!  [/p][p][/p][p]Fly smart,  [/p][p]o7 [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]