Miners will extract the last bitcoin within about 120 years, but nobody should let time slip away as global demand has skyrocketed. Miners request collateralized loans as their business model is moving away from block rewards toward fees paid by users.
The issuance of the 19 millionth bitcoin occurred in block 730,034, representing another milestone and a reminder of its scarcity.
There are currently 2 million coins left to reach the maximum issuance. The mining of the last bitcoin will occur within about 120 years.
However, nobody should let time slip away, as global demand has skyrocketed among financial institutions, countries at war, and individuals. They use it to make payments and save, and even governments see it as a trading alternative and a store of value.
Just 13 years after its creation and launch, the trend to adopt Bitcoin seems to have become irreversible. For that reason, some consider reaching 19 million issued coins as a wake-up call.
The Future of Bitcoin Mining
Each block currently generates 6.25 new BTC, which goes to the miner who has confirmed that block and user fees.
The block reward divides in half in the Bitcoin halving event every four years. In the beginning, each block generated 50 BTC, which first decreased to 25 BTC, then to 12.5 BTC, and lastly to 6.25 BTC.
In other words, there will increasingly be few coins available for Bitcoin miners, which has led them to act accordingly.
Miners have been saving and requesting collateralized loans to avoid spending their Bitcoin holdings to pay for their activities. It is public knowledge that their business model is moving away from block rewards toward fees paid by users.
That does not imply that users will pay higher fees for their transactions, but it will represent some of the primary income for miners.
Still, the use of on-chain or mainnet transactions may drop, and the usage of the Lightning network may rise. That will not involve only retail users but also payments requiring more liquidity.
People will use the mainnet to consolidate higher balances and payments, as those exchanges and users might need for storing their coins in hardware wallets.
Analyst Lyn Alden explained that thesis in an essay where she argues that fees will support Bitcoin mining in the future.
Bitcoins that are lost or destroyed
Although the maximum issuance of Bitcoin will be 21 million units, many coins have gotten lost forever over time. A study by the Cane Island firm indicates that 4% of the issued bitcoins disappear every year. For that reason, they say that only 14 million BTC will be in circulation.
Some users could lose their private keys and not be able to access their wallets anymore. A person could send some BTC to an unused wallet or one whose keys are lost. An account holder could die without leaving heirs, thus making his wallet inaccessible forever. The above are some unintentional ways of destroying bitcoins.
However, some individuals might send them to wallet addresses whose owners destroy the private keys with premeditation. In that regard, Satoshi Nakamoto stated that each bitcoin would become more valuable if other coins disappeared forever.
By Alexander Salazar
