For over a year, bitcoin has been embroiled in a circular debate about a code change that would allow the virtual currency to handle many more transactions. But this week finally saw a major shake-up that could change the course of bitcoin as we know it.The issue at hand is the size of blocks of bitcoin data that get uploaded to its public ledger, the blockchain. These blocks are created by miners in the network that use powerful computers to solve math problems and receive a reward. The idea is that if blocks get too full—something that observers have noted is already happening—the network will slow to a crawl due to the congestion.Scaling up the block size is essential for bitcoin's future, proponents argue, because merchants and customers won't use a system where their transactions take hours to be confirmed. Increasing the size of blocks would theoretically free up more space as more people start using bitcoin and keep everything running smoothly.Read More: The Dream of Buying a Coffee With Bitcoin Is Dying, If It's Not Already DeadOpponents argue that there's a slew of reasons why this might not be desirable, mostly centred around the potential for disruption during a hard fork in the code, splitting the network.Bitcoin Unlimited, an alternative to the popular Bitcoin Core client that has been at the epicenter of the block size debate, is taking a more brazen approach compared to the slow process of community deliberation. Bitcoin Unlimited allows miners to decide the size of blocks they create and the upper limit of blocks they're willing to process on their own and independent of any hard-coded limit. Forget about a smaller or bigger bitcoin—the aim with Unlimited is flexibility.With Bitcoin Unlimited, miners still create normal-sized blocks on the regular bitcoin blockchain. But if enough miners mine larger blocks, and others signal that they're willing to process them, Unlimited will automatically start building on those larger blocks, effectively creating a new version of the bitcoin blockchain with no block size limits. It's a bold idea, since it effectively side-steps any larger discussion about the code change and lets miners decide for themselves.
"It is the opposite of disruptive"
"A block size increase through Bitcoin Unlimited should make things right, things would go back the way they were," Wouter Schut, a developer and Unlimited supporter, wrote me in an email. "It is the opposite of disruptive."As opposed to Bitcoin Core, with Bitcoin Unlimited:Miners manually decide the size of the blocks they create
Miners set the upper size limit of blocks they're willing to accept for processing
Miners set the acceptable "depth" of the chain; if the depth is five, then Unlimited will accept the sixth big block in that chain as valid
With Unlimited, miners create normal-sized blocks on the bitcoin blockchain but signal that they're willing to process larger blocks
If enough Unlimited miners signal they will process larger blocks, miners can start creating them
The danger for the bitcoin network here is that Unlimited miners will send large blocks through the regular bitcoin system without anybody being willing to process them, causing them to be lost. But Unlimited proponents believe that market dynamics will prevent people from making too much of a mess."You could visualise this as a group of people who try to cross the road together," Schut wrote. "All [Bitcoin Core] people will definitely not cross the road, but the [Bitcoin Unlimited] people can only safely cross the road if enough people join them. That's why they signal that they want to cross the road, and that they will follow the majority. If a safe majority is reached, someone will go and all Unlimited people will go."Basically, because of a hard-coded limit, Bitcoin Core users can never create blocks larger than that limit. But with Unlimited, if enough people say to each other, "We will create and process larger blocks," then they can all safely do that together.But it's not just a pipe dream, either—this week, mining pool ViaBTC decided to move all of its mining operations to Bitcoin Unlimited. ViaBTC controls roughly 10 percent of the entire bitcoin network's processing power. The bitcoin mining pool owned by virtual currency entrepreneur and luminary Roger Ver has also switched to Bitcoin Unlimited."We have mined a bunch of Bitcoin Unlimited blocks and intend to mine many, many more," Ver wrote me in an email.
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FAQs
The End of Bitcoin Mining Rewards
However, once the maximum supply of 21 million bitcoins is reached, these block rewards will cease. Miners will then solely rely on transaction fees as their compensation for validating transactions and securing the network.
Is there unlimited BTC? ›
The maximum total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million. The number of Bitcoins issued will likely never reach 21 million due to the use of rounding operators in the Bitcoin codebase. No additional bitcoins will be generated when the Bitcoin supply reaches its upper limit.
What is the maximum number of bitcoins that can exist? ›
Bitcoin's maximum supply is capped at 21 million tokens. Understanding how many Bitcoins are available as the BTC halving event approaches will help future investors shape the cryptocurrency's trajectory.
Are people still mining bitcoin? ›
There are more than a dozen publicly traded miners on the network and thousands of smaller, private ones around the globe, constantly racing to process transactions and get paid in new bitcoin.
What happens to Bitcoin if everyone stops mining? ›
After all 21 million bitcoin are mined, which is estimated to occur around the year 2140, the network will no longer produce new bitcoin. The block subsidy will go to zero but miners will continue to receive transaction fees, which will make up an ever greater portion of the block reward.
Who owns the most Bitcoin? ›
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.
Who owns 90% of Bitcoin? ›
As of March 2023, the top 1% of Bitcoin addresses hold over 90% of the total Bitcoin supply, according to Bitinfocharts.
What happens after all Bitcoin is mined? ›
The built-in halving mechanism in Bitcoin's code ensures that the minting of new Bitcoins will stop once this cap is reached. By 2140, miners will no longer earn block rewards, relying solely on transaction fees as compensation. This design guarantees that there will never exceed 21 million Bitcoins in circulation.
Who controls Bitcoin? ›
Bitcoin is not controlled by any single group or person. Instead, it is governed by multiple stakeholders — including developers, miners, and users. Developers write the code that makes Bitcoin run; miners validate transactions; and users put the software to work by trading, transacting, holding, and more.
How many bitcoins does Elon Musk have? ›
The co-founder of Tesla Inc. revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token. "I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from . 25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago," Musk confessed.
About 19.6 million Bitcoins are in circulation as of 2024. Only 21 million bitcoins can ever be mined — but projections say the last won't be mined until around 2140.
How long will Bitcoin last? ›
It is often thought that in 2140, the last bitcoin will be mined. However, if the reward is halved every 210,000 blocks, it will get smaller and smaller until one satoshi is the reward and the total amount circulating equals 21 million.
How much does it cost to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›
CoinShares tells us it is about $53,000 to mine one Bitcoin these days, and that is an average that large mining companies spend on one BTC. For those who do not know, halving means miners get half the Bitcoin they used to get for decoding blocks that contain data about the Bitcoin network.
How much money does a Bitcoin miner make? ›
If you're successful in mining a Bitcoin block, you'll receive 6.25 BTC – currently valued at over $162,500. You'll also receive the transaction fees paid by senders for the respective block.
What year will Bitcoin be fully mined? ›
The system design reduces the number of new bitcoins in each block by half every four years. There are only about 1.5 million bitcoins left. Experts predict that the last bitcoins will be mined by 2140.
Will Bitcoin ever reach 21 million? ›
When will the total supply of Bitcoin reach 21 million? Never. The number of Bitcoins will never reach the 21 million BTC cap. Instead, the supply will continue to approach the limit before completely halting at a block height of 6,930,000 around the year 2140.
How many of the 21 million bitcoins have been mined? ›
Summary. Bitcoin Market Cap: There is a limited supply of bitcoins that can ever exist, with a total cap of 21 million. Currently, over 19 million bitcoins have been mined and are in circulation, leaving approximately 1.5 million left to be mined.
What happens when max supply is reached in crypto? ›
Maximum supply is defined as the total number of cryptocurrency coins or tokens that will ever be mined, or created. It is the maximum number of units that can ever be in circulation, and once the maximum supply is reached, no new units will be mined or issued.
How long will it take for Bitcoin to reach 21 million? ›
By 2140, 21 million Bitcoins will be mined, enhancing the network's scarcity and value.
