Not so, according to Peter R himself:
Thank you for your response. I think you bring up some interesting points that readers should be made aware of. Transforming your concerns to the language of my paper, I think you're challenging the claim that "gamma" [the coding gain with which block solutions are transmitted] can not be infinite (cf. Section 7). Indeed, if gamma is infinite then the analysis breaks down.
I propose the following changes:
1. I will make it more clear that the results of the paper hinge on the assumption that block solutions are propagated across channels, and that the quantity of pure information communicated per solution is proportional to the amount of information contained within the block.
2. I will add a note [unless you ask me not to] something to the effect of "Greg Maxwell challenges the claim that the coding gain cannot be infinite
" followed by a summary of the scenario you described. I will reference "personal communication." I will also run the note by you before I make the next revision public.
3. I will point out that if the coding gain can be made spectacularly high, that the propagation impedance in my model will become very small, and that although a fee market may strictly exist in the asymptotic sense, such a fee market may not be relevant (the phenomena in the paper would be negligible compared to the dynamics from some other effect).
4. [UNRELATED] I also plan to address Dave Hudson's objections in my next revision (the "you don't orphan your own block" point).
Lastly, thank you for the note about what might happen when fees > rewards. I've have indeed been thinking about this. I believe it is outside the scope of the present paper, although I am doing some work on the topic. (Perhaps I'll add a bit more discussion on this topic to the present paper to get the reader thinking in this direction).
Best regards,
Peter