We often chat about Bitcoin's 21 million cap, but what happens after 2140? The block subsidy will hit zero then, and miners will rely solely on transaction fees for income. That was part of Satoshi's plan, but is it really gonna work in practice? Can fees secure the network?
Honestly, this question has popped up a ton here. But yeah, search for it next time. Still, it’s a concern for the future, and I doubt any of us will be around to see the last Bitcoin mined. Kind of like those quantum computing fears... let’s not stress about it yet.
Mining is already sketchy in terms of profit, honestly. I mean, we’ll figure it out when we get there. But if I had to guess, we might see a drop in the number of active miners.
Right? Why worry now? Did anyone even foresee Bitcoin 100 years ago? No way! We have no clue what’s gonna happen, but we can speculate about fees being enough in the next 25 years.
Bitcoin’s been around for about 17 years, and look how much it changed. With all the forks and adaptations, if it can't stand on fees alone, then something’s gotta give.
Mining should still be profitable as long as there are transaction fees. But the real deal is whether those fees can keep Bitcoin safe from a 51% attack, and no one has a solid answer for that.
Totally agree. Bitcoin’s been around for 17 years, and that future you're talking about is still a long way off. If demand grows, transaction fees could rise too, helping miners out.
2140 is kinda irrelevant here. Even with low fees, a full block can earn about 0.02 BTC in fees. By 2056, the block subsidy will drop below that. We’re talking 30 years, not 114.
It's tough to say for sure, but it all comes down to how the network or miners will react when fees are their only motivation. It’s about how high transaction volumes are.
You can see the situation now. BCH's block rewards from inflation and fees are almost equal to Bitcoin's fee income. Not what they meant when they claimed to be the future of Bitcoin.
I hope I live to see 2040. Satoshi thought the fee market would kick in by 2030, not 2140. If fees can’t replace the subsidy by 2036, we might see hashpower drop.
The risk of a 51% attack isn’t just about who owns the infrastructure. It's more about someone temporarily accessing the rigs. Renting hash power could be the real risk here.
Now I see it. The block subsidy running out doesn’t just cut the security budget; it alters how hashpower works. If miners rely on rented power, Bitcoin's security becomes tied to rental prices, not its own.
It’s wild that we might not see Bitcoin thrive after all the blocks are mined. But if Bitcoin makes it a century from now, I doubt fees will be an issue.