Two economy policies have quietly shaped Forever's money system since September, and both are now visible enough to have their own community debate. They belong in one story, because the second is how the first gets enforced.
Part one: GDKP is banned, not discouraged
On September 17, Blizzard confirmed GDKP will not be allowed in Forever. Gold-bid raids are too closely tied to gold buying to be permitted in the new economy. This is a design line from Blizzard: if gold can buy gear and gear can be sold for real money, GDKP becomes the laundering mechanism for gold buying, so it is out. It is also a system our scene knows from the other side, since laundering purchased wealth through community events has contributed to more than one realm closure we have covered.
Blizzard's reasoning as captured in community coverage at the time: GDKP runs reward players who "buy gold, it leads to a negative impact on the economy with bad actors laundering gold".
Part two: the Temporary Economy Hold
The newer policy visible from October: Blizzard's blue post describes a new enforcement tool:
"If your account is suspected of being involved in RMT, either the selling or receiving of illicit gains, you may find your account subject to a Temporary Economy Hold. You will have restricted use of trade, mail, guild banks and the Auction House while this economic hold is in place."
A hold is defined to be temporary and investigative, not a punishment state by itself. That is deliberate tone: the community contrast in the thread itself, which people responded to on both sides, is between "ban first, apologize later" and freeze-then-review. The uncertainty of who gets flagged, and why, is the policy's weak point as the forum replies make plain: one objection is selling an item to a buyer later flagged without knowing, and finding your own account frozen second-hand.
Why a private server reader should care
Because a shop economy is the one thing nearly every large private server sells, and the private server answer to RMT has generally been to sell the thing itself, boots and levels and currency, openly, through a store. Blizzard's answer is the opposite shape: sell nothing gameplay changing, and aggressively freeze the flow of purchased wealth, with a moderation tool many private server admins would borrow for their own RMT problems. The comparison matters to any discussion of what a "Blizzlike" economy means in 2026, including ours.
SOURCES: the GDKP confirmation as captured September 17 2026 by Wowhead's Forever news thread "GDKP Will Not Be Allowed in WoW: Forever", 382968; the Temporary Economy Holds blue post, US forum thread 2381433; the writeups by Classic WoW Forever and Warcraft Tavern for the October framing. All quotes are from the forum post and the community coverage listed. Related: how donor gear policies compare across the scene, and the Forever hub.