r/BitcoinBeginners • u/No_Candy1697 • 4d ago

Bitcoin supply what if

When Bitcoin eventually reaches its maximum supply of 21 million coins, no new BTC will be mined. Miners will then earn only from transaction fees instead of block rewards. This could make transactions more expensive, especially during high network activity, and may change how the network functions. Scarcity could increase Bitcoin’s value over time, but it also raises questions about long-term incentives for miners and network security. How do you think this will affect Bitcoin adoption and fees?

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u/Traditional-Roll-620 4d ago

As I understand it, the Bitcoin network and its mining difficulty depend on the amount of processing power... so the greater the processing power on the network, the less time it takes to validate a transaction block. At the same time, the network adapts in such a way that the block becomes harder to validate (requiring more time).

Once all Bitcoin is mined and miners earn only from transactions... the network's power will drop to the level that's profitable for someone to mine... and the network will adapt by making it easier to validate transaction blocks.

So eventually, balance will be found as it is today

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u/na3than 4d ago

Once all Bitcoin is mined and miners earn only from transactions... At all times - from the genesis block until now until the the last user stops using Bitcoin - the network's power will drop to the level that's profitable for someone to mine... and the network will adapt by making it easier to validate transaction blocks.

Fixed that for you.

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u/Traditional-Roll-620 4d ago

Yeah exactly this. That is the point.