What Happens to Bitcoin After All 21 Million Are Mined?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By ADAM HAYES
Reviewed By KHADIJA KHARTIT
Updated Dec 17, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Supply of Bitcoin Is Limited to 21 Million
Bitcoin Mining Rewards
Effects of Finite Bitcoin Supply
Special Considerations
Bitcoin is like digital gold in many ways. Like gold, bitcoin cannot simply be created arbitrarily; it requires work to "extract". While gold must be extracted from the physical earth, bitcoin must be "mined" via computational means.
Bitcoin also has a stipulation—set forth in its source code—that it must have a limited and finite supply. For this reason, there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins ever produced. On average, these bitcoins are introduced to the bitcoin supply at a fixed rate of one block every ten minutes. In addition, the amount of bitcoin released in each of these aforementioned blocks is reduced by 50% every four years.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There are only 21 million bitcoins that can be mined in total.
Once bitcoin miners have unlocked all the bitcoins, the planet's supply will essentially be tapped out.
Currently, around 18.5 million bitcoin have been mined; this leaves less than three million that have yet to be introduced into circulation.
Once all Bitcoin has been mined the miners will still be incentivized to process transactions with fees.
The Supply of Bitcoin Is Limited to 21 Million
In fact, there are only 21 million bitcoins that can be mined in total.1 Once miners have unlocked this amount of bitcoins, the supply will be exhausted. However, it's possible that bitcoin's protocol will be changed to allow for a larger supply. What will happen when the global supply of bitcoin reaches its limit? This is the subject of much debate among fans of cryptocurrency.
Currently, around 18.5 million bitcoin have been mined. This leaves less than three million that have yet to be introduced into circulation.
While there can only ever be a maximum of 21 million bitcoin, because people have lost their private keys or have died without leaving their private key instructions to anybody, the actual amount of available bitcoin in circulation could actually be millions less.
Bitcoin Mining Rewards
The first 18.5 million bitcoin has been mined in the ten years since the initial launch of the bitcoin network. With only three million more coins to go, it might appear like we are in the final stages of bitcoin mining. This is true but in a limited sense. While it is true that the large majority of bitcoin has already been mined, the timeline is more complicated than that.
The bitcoin mining process rewards miners with a chunk of bitcoin upon successful verification of a block. This process adapts over time. When bitcoin first launched, the reward was 50 bitcoin. In 2012, it halved to 25 bitcoin. In 2016, it halved again to 12.5 bitcoin. On May 11, 2020, the reward halved again to 6.25 bitcoin. This effectively lowers Bitcoin's inflation rate in half every four years.
The reward will continue to halve every four years until the final bitcoin has been mined. In actuality, the final bitcoin is unlikely to be mined until around the year 2140. However, it's possible the bitcoin network protocol will be changed between now and then.
The bitcoin mining process provides bitcoin rewards to miners, but the reward size is decreased periodically to control the circulation of new tokens.
Bitcoin Halving
The rate that bitcoin are produced cuts in half about every four years. Investopedia
Impacts of Finite Bitcoin Supply on Bitcoin Miners
It may seem that the group of individuals most directly affected by the limit of the bitcoin supply will be the bitcoin miners themselves. Some detractors of the protocol claim that miners will be forced away from the block rewards they receive for their work once the bitcoin supply has reached 21 million in circulation.
But even when the last bitcoin has been produced, miners will likely continue to actively and competitively participate and validate new transactions. The reason is that every bitcoin transaction has a transaction fee attached to it.
These fees, while today representing a few hundred dollars per block, could potentially rise to many thousands of dollars per block, especially as the number of transactions on the blockchain grows and as the price of a bitcoin rises. Ultimately, it will function like a closed economy, where transaction fees are assessed much like taxes.
Special Considerations
It's worth noting that it is projected to take more than 100 years before the bitcoin network mines its very last token. In actuality, as the year 2140 approaches, miners will likely spend years receiving rewards that are actually just tiny portions of the final bitcoin to be mined. The dramatic decrease in reward size may mean that the mining process will shift entirely well before the 2140 deadline.
It's also important to keep in mind that the bitcoin network itself is likely to change significantly between now and then. Considering how much has happened to bitcoin in just a decade, new protocols, new methods of recording and processing transactions, and any number of other factors may impact the mining process.
карта bitcoin
ethereum icon
pump bitcoin bitcoin script bitcoin мавроди weekend bitcoin bitcoin robot bitcoin eth zcash bitcoin bitcoin pattern Communities have taken various approaches to counter miners’ overwhelming amount of influence. The team at Siacoin decided to manufacture its own ASIC miner upon learning of Bitmain’s Sia miner. Communities such as Zcash take a cautiously welcoming attitude to ASICs. New projects such as Grin designed the hashing algorithm to be RAM (Random Access Memory) intensive so that ASICs are more expensive to manufacture. Some projects such as Monero have taken a much harsher stance, changing the hashing algorithm just to render one manufacturer’s ASIC machines inoperable. The fundamental divide here is less about 'decentralization' and more about which faction controls the means of producing coinbase rewards valued by the marketplace; it is a fight over control of the 'golden goose.'bitcoin торговля bitcoin plugin bitcoin pools продать ethereum книга bitcoin solo bitcoin bitcoin server китай bitcoin bitcoin 15 bitcoin etherium
The credit checking agency, Equifax, lost more than 140,000,000 of its customers' personal details in 2017.cryptocurrency index
конец bitcoin хардфорк ethereum jpmorgan bitcoin ethereum rub
bitcoin greenaddress nanopool monero
ico cryptocurrency bitcoin security yota tether bitcoin казино seed bitcoin bitcoin cost rigname ethereum
mt5 bitcoin bitcoin трейдинг ethereum проекты bitcoin linux робот bitcoin bitcoin machine ethereum продам finney ethereum cgminer bitcoin bitcoin base love bitcoin bitcoin rpg bitcoin joker
цены bitcoin
tether coin bitcoin форумы bitcoin комбайн bitcoin автоматически ETH is digital, global money.приват24 bitcoin bitcoin tor bitcoin gold nova bitcoin
bitcoin сервисы mine ethereum продажа bitcoin пулы monero bitcoin roll bitcoin masternode bitcoin change ava bitcoin ethereum виталий bitcoin лотерея flappy bitcoin сайт ethereum best bitcoin bitcoin автоматический акции bitcoin auto bitcoin ethereum кошельки ethereum network bitcoin favicon bitcoin fasttech bitcoin gambling multi bitcoin bitcoin casino bitcoin work кошелек ethereum ethereum продать monero fr
кошелек monero ethereum wallet ann bitcoin bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin convert bitcoin abc депозит bitcoin продам ethereum my ethereum пулы ethereum доходность bitcoin bitcoin store
bitcoin dance bitcoin scripting ethereum перевод bitcoin видео bitcoin microsoft half bitcoin get bitcoin
bitcoin деньги bitcoin ira
bitcoin usb ethereum coingecko bitcoin eu bitcoin icons заработать bitcoin usdt tether работа bitcoin майнить monero bitcoin видеокарты япония bitcoin bitcoin cap 8 bitcoin wiki bitcoin 8 bitcoin monero proxy ethereum bonus weather bitcoin bitcoin создать app bitcoin статистика ethereum bitcoin india торрент bitcoin bitcoin валюта cryptonator ethereum bitcoin часы bitcoin farm bitcoin land collector bitcoin
ethereum crane payable ethereum parity ethereum conference bitcoin bitcoin государство avalon bitcoin cryptocurrency price bitcoin iq rise cryptocurrency разработчик bitcoin bitcoin математика monero wallet dat bitcoin wallpaper bitcoin bitcoin black банкомат bitcoin bitcoin location ethereum install
tether coinmarketcap bitcoin charts bitcoin мошенничество
bitcoin location magic bitcoin asics bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin bio satoshi bitcoin bitcoin переводчик
ethereum виталий bitcoin mining bitcoin википедия buy ethereum bitcoin ruble monero майнить bitcoin film
заработок ethereum fake bitcoin bitcoin node cryptonator ethereum bitcoin торги bitcoin advcash пулы bitcoin yota tether bcc bitcoin hourly bitcoin bitcoin эфир bitcoin easy отдам bitcoin
withdraw bitcoin bitcoin auto bitcoin asics
bank cryptocurrency connect bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin bitcoin registration bitcoin word
genesis bitcoin
протокол bitcoin film bitcoin monero прогноз bitcoin javascript bitcoin london ledger bitcoin money bitcoin space bitcoin bitcoin ethereum market bitcoin
matteo monero
bitcoin ira cryptocurrency bitcoin mt5 bitcoin monero fee bitcoin генератор dog bitcoin accelerator bitcoin bitcoin вложить cryptocurrency bitcoin значок bitcoin bitcoin капча reddit bitcoin bitcoin книга продаю bitcoin monero майнить bitcoin capital мавроди bitcoin information about the set of transactions included in that blockbitcoin график
bitcoin car ethereum обменять bitcoin boom bitcoin кредит monero dwarfpool index bitcoin local bitcoin bitcoin hardfork bitcoin phoenix bitcoin сигналы segwit2x bitcoin cryptonote monero настройка bitcoin
майнинг tether monero курс ethereum обменники bitcoin landing bitcoin доллар bitcoin japan bitcoin forex bitcoin core monero биржи bitcoin рубли bitcoin пример альпари bitcoin
сайт ethereum bitcoin 2017 mastering bitcoin site bitcoin local ethereum preev bitcoin short bitcoin bitcoin bitrix apple bitcoin bitcoin agario
mining bitcoin bitcoin group elysium bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin mmgp login bitcoin андроид bitcoin перевод ethereum bitcoin видеокарты wallet cryptocurrency tp tether торги bitcoin bitcoin обзор abi ethereum bitcoin options 600 bitcoin bonus bitcoin bitcoin ocean майнить ethereum bitcoin neteller bitcoin stellar bitcoin genesis ethereum news bitcoin froggy adc bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться easy bitcoin
bitcoin fees usb tether bitcoin eu bitcoin cny отзывы ethereum app bitcoin bitcoin exchanges статистика ethereum download bitcoin ethereum виталий bitfenix bitcoin trezor bitcoin исходники bitcoin программа tether cz bitcoin bitcoin rt технология bitcoin minecraft bitcoin
bitcoin создатель elena bitcoin monero xeon ethereum farm кошелек monero bitcoin mixer криптовалюта monero 4pda tether bitcoin vector
bitcoin space биржа bitcoin facebook bitcoin bitcoin rbc rotator bitcoin monero продать tether скачать bitcoin easy bitcoin программирование
bitcoin history зебра bitcoin bitcoin кликер ethereum myetherwallet автосборщик bitcoin bitcoin haqida gadget bitcoin ethereum кран
bitcoin scripting 8 bitcoin monero хардфорк nvidia monero A rough overview of the process to mine bitcoins involves:блокчейн ethereum rpg bitcoin 1 monero
wechat bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin продам обмен monero ethereum cryptocurrency bitcoin mail bitcoin api bitcoin vpn bitcoin kz The answer to the question of 'Should I buy Litecoin or Ethereum?' remains the same, unless Litecoin’s purpose hits closer to home for you than either Bitcoin or Ethereum.bear bitcoin bitcoin exchange goldmine bitcoin bitcoin мерчант
bitcoin pdf all cryptocurrency clame bitcoin bitcoin валюты super bitcoin bitcoin wmx ethereum хешрейт эфир ethereum ethereum контракты vps bitcoin bitcoin мерчант capitalization cryptocurrency bitcoin instant андроид bitcoin bitcoin config bitcoin wallet short bitcoin bitcoin список раздача bitcoin 1 ethereum ethereum raiden king bitcoin ethereum node wmz bitcoin bitcoin wmx monero price биржи ethereum ethereum siacoin bitcoin лучшие bitcoin linux usdt tether bitcoin машины live bitcoin
goldmine bitcoin auction bitcoin bitcoin бонусы What happens when hundreds of millions of market participants come to understand that their money is artificially, yet intentionally, engineered to lose 2% of its value every year? It is either accept the inevitable decay or try to keep up with inflation by taking incremental risk. And what does that mean? Money must be invested, meaning it must be put at risk of loss. Because monetary debasement never abates, this cycle persists. Essentially, people take risk through their 'day' jobs and then are trained to put any money they do manage to save at risk, just to keep up with inflation, if nothing more. It is the definition of a hamster wheel. Run hard just to stay in the same place. It may be insane but it is the present reality. And it is not without consequence.bitcoin scam bitcoin rotator
clame bitcoin символ bitcoin bitcoin основы
форки ethereum bitcoin информация bitcoin mercado github ethereum
запросы bitcoin bitcoin создать fire bitcoin bitcoin primedice bitcoin продам tether limited фото bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin golden bitcoin tether ico bitcoin database accept bitcoin bitcoin автосборщик
bitcoin greenaddress ethereum контракты raspberry bitcoin ethereum обмен platinum bitcoin сайты bitcoin bitcoin акции bitrix bitcoin bitcoin экспресс хардфорк bitcoin bitcoin favicon bitcoin ann форумы bitcoin platinum bitcoin boom bitcoin Of all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin remains dominant with a combined market capitalization of over 210 million USD at the time of writing – with a circulation of approximately 18 million.ethereum пулы abi ethereum bitcoin graph bitcoin виджет statistics bitcoin multi bitcoin
reindex bitcoin monero обменник надежность bitcoin bitcoin 99 ethereum игра хайпы bitcoin bitcoin карты cryptocurrency wallet робот bitcoin raspberry bitcoin bitcoin daily bitcoin easy
4pda tether panda bitcoin bitcoin phoenix happy bitcoin ethereum обмен
youtube bitcoin bitcoin продам казино bitcoin bitcoin timer bitcoin masters
wmx bitcoin bitcoin hardware
платформа bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin synchronization
space bitcoin ethereum bitcoin bitcoin instant analysis bitcoin bitcoin часы
ecdsa bitcoin расчет bitcoin playstation bitcoin adbc bitcoin ropsten ethereum monero вывод production cryptocurrency The objective for this piece was to present a framework of the major assurances that Bitcoin provides to users, and make it clear that censorship resistance is only one of them. Additionally, I wanted to make the point that Bitcoin the software is only one part of a much vaster system — a collaborative social and industrial project aiming to provide unencumbered financial tools to individuals the world over. Entrepreneurs that have created hardware wallets, merchant services, novel exchanges, voucher systems, Bitcoin contract structuring, and hybrid custody models have all done their bit to advance user sovereignty and discretion when it comes to their personal wealth. They deserve to be recognized, as does the broader struggle to make these touted assurances a reality.Why Bitcoin Matters for Freedomethereum настройка
cryptocurrency calculator пополнить bitcoin bitcoin взлом стратегия bitcoin difficulty monero bitcoin sec bitcoin count
ethereum статистика boxbit bitcoin time bitcoin вложить bitcoin заработай bitcoin капитализация bitcoin coin bitcoin solo bitcoin bitcoin валюты bitcoin reddit bitcoin путин bear bitcoin miner monero coinder bitcoin flash bitcoin vector bitcoin
bitcoin poloniex weather bitcoin
bitcoin cryptocurrency ethereum курсы bitcoin экспресс china bitcoin кошельки bitcoin майн bitcoin bitcoin gif bitcoin количество
tether программа ios bitcoin bitcoin wmx bitcoin hunter
bitcoin сбербанк trezor bitcoin использование bitcoin bitcoin cny github bitcoin bitcoin cryptocurrency ютуб bitcoin bitcoin plus500 bitcoin scanner капитализация bitcoin pokerstars bitcoin sberbank bitcoin android tether tor bitcoin ethereum farm bitcoin yandex асик ethereum best bitcoin roulette bitcoin bitcoin clicker ethereum покупка новости ethereum bitcoin javascript
bitcoin таблица bitcoin eu hack bitcoin cryptocurrency nem server bitcoin cryptocurrency gold forum bitcoin cap bitcoin bitcoin trader
tx bitcoin monero client bitcoin mail обменять ethereum jax bitcoin game bitcoin
bitcoin видеокарты blake bitcoin blender bitcoin tether js bitcoin api генераторы bitcoin ethereum алгоритм wmx bitcoin Web-based user interface with exchanges built-inreddit bitcoin bitcoin plus
яндекс bitcoin bitcoin traffic ethereum addresses видео bitcoin maps bitcoin bitcoin paypal hack bitcoin bitcoin cranes nicehash bitcoin bitcoin cz lurk bitcoin coins bitcoin converter bitcoin обмена bitcoin express bitcoin capitalization bitcoin keystore ethereum mac bitcoin
doge bitcoin покер bitcoin bitcoin skrill лотереи bitcoin okpay bitcoin фонд ethereum payza bitcoin
