With each block being solved every 10 minutes, that means that 6.25 BTC enters circulation every 10 minutes.
In the past, a larger amount was entering circulation per block, but due to three block reward halvings, that amount went from 50 to 25 per block, then to 12.5, and finally, as of last year, 6.25 coins per block.
But, something that is not that well known to people is what will happen after all 21 million coins are mined and circulating.
At this point in time, several scenarios are possible. For example, the Bitcoin community might agree to change its protocol in order to allow for a larger supply and keep mining. This would likely not be beneficial for the coin’s price, as it would further boost the supply. However, there is still quite sometime before all 21 million units get released, so the adoption and demand might surge enough to not have a major impact.
The group most affected by this will, of course, be the Bitcoin miners, who may simply stop processing transactions when the rewards stop. However, the chances are that this will not happen and that they continue and start taking the money from transaction fees. Each transaction requires a fee, and while the fees are fairly low currently — being at several hundreds of dollars at most, I believe that they could be measured in thousands of dollars in a few years’ time, as adoption continues to grow.
It should be noted that it will likely take over a century before this happens and that the final BTC should be mined around 2140. At that point, BTC might not even be in use anymore, as the world might switch to better assets — either another crypto or another invention. Right now, the crypto industry has only been around for 12 years, and already, it has made incredible progress.
Who can tell what the future may bring and how we might process transactions in another 120 years?
What do you think? Will BTC still be around in 120 years?
