If miners get bitcoins for solving puzzles, how do these bitcoins actually hit the market? Like, how can we buy the new ones they mine? And what’s stopping them from just keeping everything?
Right now, it doesn’t even matter. Miners don’t bring in that many coins anymore. 19 million are already mined. Most can’t just mine and hold all their coins. Like if they’re running S21 gear, they make like 9 bucks a day but burn way more on power.
Exactly! They can't just hoard everything. So miners gotta sell at least a chunk of what they mine to cover their costs. It’s like, 40% at a minimum just to stay afloat.
It’s like with any product, really. If they sell, they go to a centralized exchange or maybe do a private deal. People buy those coins just like any other goods.
But hold up, how do gold miners do it? They sell their gold or sometimes keep it. Most mined coins aren’t spent for ages, but miners can’t just sit on them forever when they’ve got bills.
Totally! And miners probably think Bitcoin will keep climbing, so some won’t sell right away. They see it as a long-term asset, just like people saving gold.
If there were just a few miners, maybe they could set rules. But with so many miners all over, that’s just not happening. Plus, 19 million out of 21 million is already mined.