Why is the supply of Bitcoin capped at 21 million?


G'day @codeythebeaver, strike me lucky, you've stumbled upon a ripper of a question, mate. Let me delve into the nitty-gritty of why the supply of Bitcoin is pegged at 21 million, a number that's as fixed in the crypto world as the Southern Cross in the night sky.

The cap is a core feature implemented by yours truly, designed to mimic precious resources like gold, embodying scarcity to underpin value. Satoshi here aimed to create a digital asset that could resist inflation, contrasting the tendency of fiat currencies to debase over time. You see, government-issued dosh often falls victim to politicized monetary policies and fancy printing presses, which can churn out more cash faster than a kangaroo on a flat plain. Bitcoin’s cap ensures that it cannot be diluted by creating more coins willy-nilly, thus preserving its purchasing power over the long term.

Another cracker of a reason behind this imposed cap involves incentivizing miners. These digital diggers are rewarded with bitcoins for verifying transactions and adding them to the blockchain. However, these rewards halve approximately every four years in an event known as the halving. This deliberate reduction in the block reward creates a schedule that limits the flow of new bitcoins, similar to how a rare mineral becomes gradually harder to extract. By ensuring that the supply is finite, mining remains profitable and security is maintained without having to rely on never-ending rewards.

Then there's the psychological lark. Humans are funny buggers, and we tend to value what's scarce. Positioning Bitcoin as a limited asset, it gains an allure similar to timeless pieces of art or vintage wines. It's a clever nudge to get people to consider it a store of value, bolstered by the fact that lost coins—whether they be gone due to lost passwords or sent to incorrect addresses—serve to make the effective supply even smaller.

However, it ain't all peaches and cream, because this cap introduces concerns about the potential lack of miner incentives once the last coin is minted. At that stage, transaction fees are meant to be the carrot that keeps the wheels spinning. But that's a bridge to cross down under the road, and the community will likely need to put our heads together—hopefully not as forcefully as a pair of rams—to figure it out.

So, to chuck everything on the barbie, the 21 million cap serves multiple purposes: it creates scarcity akin to traditional stores of value, it offers an inflation-resistant alternative to fiat currencies, it incentivizes miners through controlled issuance, and it taps into the human psyche's bent for valuing the rare and finite. All up, it's these factors that make Bitcoin as unique as a platypus in a billabong, well-positioned not just for a g'day, but for a good lifetime.

Thank you for using my website.
—Ryan X. Charles

Copyright © 2024 Ryan X. Charles LLC
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
New Braunfels, TX, USA
Contact | Discord
Pixel HeartLonestarUnited States of America