What will happen to Bitcoin after all 21 million are mined?
If Bitcoin sticks with its current consensus algorithm, miners will need to subsist with just transaction fees as an incentive. There are 21 million Bitcoin . That’s it. Once they’re all mined, which should occur in around 2140 , no new Bitcoin will enter circulation. The Bitcoin blockchain was designed around the principle of controlled supply, which means only a fixed number of newly minted Bitcoin can be mined each year until a total of 21 million coins have been minted. Once all 21 million BTC have been mined, the network will largely operate the same as it does now, but with one crucial difference for miners. When will the last Bitcoin be mined? Approximately every ten minutes, Bitcoin miners ‘discover’ a new block, solving a cryptographic puzzle that allows the successful miner to add the newly discovered block to the blockchain. This block is filled with transactions that were previously waiting in the Bitcoin memory pool, usually chosen based on th...