Monitoring the Linden Supply

The LindeX market data also show that the Linden saw a decline in high, low, and average exchange rates in October. While the change may be small compared with fluctuations in previous months, the fact remains that the U.S. dollar was certainly worth more Linden to begin the month.

In fact, over the last three months, the exchange rate has steadily dropped from $305 Linden per U.S. dollar to $274 per U.S. dollar, where it stands currently. That's a 10.2% rise in value for the Linden.

The Linden's value changes depending on the quantity that enters and exits SL's system. In September, Linden Lab reported 34,367,829 Linden in sinks (exits), compared with 92,062,397 in sources (entries). That means that more than $125,000 left the SL market in September, mostly through fees associated with uploading images, sounds and animations to SL or through charges for classified advertisements.

On the other hand, more than $337,000 was added to the SL market in September, mostly through stipends paid to premium users and monthly sales of the Linden through the LindeX. Premium users pay a monthly subscription fee of $9.95 in order for the right to own "land." Each premium user is given a weekly stipend of 400 Linden, or roughly $5.86 a month.

While reductions in October look to remain unchanged from September's level, a large increase in sources of Linden already can be seen. A month-to-month rise by roughly 42 million Linden is expected, as the number of Linden sold through the LindeX has more than doubled. In addition, the monthly stipends paid by Linden Lab also jumped by more than 13 million Linden, an increase of nearly 20%.