I am of the opinion of "Leave it Be" for now. Considering we have a static economy, most players being indies or pick-up groups, and the fact that folks are going to get the money one way or the other, so it's a fairly moot factor as far as Disco Economics goes. There just aren't enough barges to matter.
I want a Barge. If I had one, I would probably RP it as a Consortium Mobile Shipyard/Fleet Support Station/Something. Playerbases are far more difficult to run then a Barge, and everyone and their mother wants to siege the nearest base, so it is no true replacement.
I personally would, if anything, make a set number on how many Barges should exist in the server at once. How many there are. And just maintain a fairly low number. (some would gradually disappear due to inactivity/deletions/etc)
How many Barges actually ARE there in active use at this point?