One of the unique characteristics of Bitcoin is that the amount of tokens that can ever be minted is limited to 21 million Bitcoin. As of January 2023, around 19 million Bitcoin had been mined into existence. As the Bitcoin supply draws closer to its supply limit, it’s typical for you to wonder what will happen once all Bitcoin has been mined.
Cause Deflation in the Economy
One of the benefits of Bitcoin halving is that it cuts down the inflation rate of Bitcoin, solidifying it as a more stable currency than inflationary fiat currency. When comparing their values using the BTC to USD conversion rate one Bitcoin holds a higher value than a US dollar. As Bitcoin appreciates in value, smaller pieces of Bitcoin will carry a larger purchasing value.
With the upward trend in the value of Bitcoin, it is bound to have a deflationary effect on the economy as more Bitcoin is mined. Goods valued with Bitcoin right now may cost less in the future because of Bitcoin’s purchasing power.
Miners May Entirely Depend on Transaction Fees for Revenue
When Bitcoin was launched, miners used to be rewarded with 50 Bitcoins every time they verified a new group of Bitcoin transactions called a block. This compensation was halved to 25 Bitcoin in 2012 and then divided by two again to become 12.5 Bitcoin in 2016. As of 2021 miners have been receiving 6.25 Bitcoin for every new block they discover and add to the Bitcoin blockchain.
When the next halving event happens in 2024, miners will only receive 3.125 Bitcoin for every new group of Bitcoin transactions they verify and add to the blockchain. Bitcoin can handle seven transactions per second and miners can only add one confirmed transaction to the block every 10 minutes. As the incentives for miners reduce over the years, it will get to a point where only relying on block discovery rewards for revenue will no longer be feasible.
Right now, transaction fees make up around 6% of miner’s revenue. However, as Bitcoin supply draws to its limit, the fees for transacting Bitcoin are bound to rise exponentially. Although there are no guarantees that transaction fees will supplement block rewards, with the growth of new users of Bitcoin more transactions on the blockchain will result in higher payouts to miners verifying these transactions.
It May Be a Long Wait Before You Find Out
The rate at which Bitcoin units are released into circulation is greatly impacted by the halving event. The halving event is a Bitcoin protocol that was programmed into the Bitcoin blockchain by the inventor so that approximately every four years, the rewards of miners for discovering new blocks in the blockchain are cut down by half. The halving event slowly reduces the number of miners because they lose half of their revenue.
This diminish in miners may reduce the rate of discovery of Bitcoin blocks on the blockchain. Analysis suggests that you might discover that all 21 million Bitcoins will have been mined by the year 2140. Most of us might not even be alive to see it.
The Price of Bitcoin May Rise
Since halving reduces the flow of Bitcoin into the market, as Bitcoin nears a moment when all Bitcoin will be mined, its value may increase exponentially. The mechanic of supply and demand dictates that as the fresh supply of Bitcoin decreases more investors will want to buy into the market so as to benefit when the supply is exhausted. Despite all previous halvings of miner’s revenue, the price of Bitcoin has steadily been increasing, even exceeding the pace of value appreciation of the US dollar.
Endnote
There are bound to be many changes in the cryptocurrency space as well as the economy as more people get into Bitcoin. Perhaps Bitcoin could replace traditional fiat currencies to be a better alternative. It can be challenging to accurately predict what will happen when all Bitcoin is mined because this event is too far in the future.
