Bitcoiners celebrate as the network produces its 20 millionth coin

“A digital money system with transparent, predictable, and ultimately scarce supply... has rising appeal in today’s economy due to fiat currency tail risks," said Grayscale.

The Bitcoin network has just reached 20 million mined coins, leaving just one million Bitcoin to be mined over the next century. 

“The market is about to experience something new: A global asset with almost no new supply left,” Energy Co managing partner David Eng said in an X post on Sunday.

On average, about 450 new Bitcoins are mined each day at current rates. This rate halves roughly every four years as a result of the Bitcoin halving. With just 1 million Bitcoin supply left, the last Bitcoin is set to be mined around 2140. 

Bitcoin mining company Elektron Energy CEO Raphael Zagury told Cointelegraph the level of clarity around Bitcoin’s supply is “unprecedented.”

“The issuance schedule is transparent decades into the future. Humans value predictable rules, especially when it comes to money,” Zagury said.

“The one million countdown reinforces everything that's unique about Bitcoin,” added crypto exchange Swyftx portfolio manager Tommy Rogulj. 

“It is a hard-capped, permissionless, and neutral bearer asset operating on a transparent supply curve that cannot be expanded like fiat currencies. This matters in a world that is increasingly succumbing to conflict and tech-driven uncertainty.”

In December, asset management firm Grayscale Investments said that a “digital money system with transparent, predictable, and ultimately scarce supply is a simple idea, but it has rising appeal in today’s economy due to fiat currency tail risks.”

However, crypto analysts were not convinced the recent milestone would affect Bitcoin’s price.

“Already priced in, markets know the supply growth rate (inflation rate) of BTC with certainty, and it's already lower than gold,” Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards told Cointelegraph. “I think it's a non-event, no impact.”

Zagury shares a similar view to Edwards. “I don’t think the milestone alone moves price in the short term,” Zagury said, adding that “liquidity and macro still dominate.”

Related: Bitcoin drops 2% as oil prices surge on energy shortage fears

“But long term, scarcity plus predictable policy is a powerful combination. Over time, markets tend to reward systems people can trust,” he said.

Bitcoin traded at $68,670 at the time of publication, down around 19% in the past year, according to CoinMarketCap.

One of the biggest questions among Bitcoiners is what happens once the last Bitcoin is mined in 2140, with some worried that the network’s security could suffer, as miners will no longer be incentivized by new coins. 

It is understood that at that point, Bitcoin’s model will shift to transaction fees to incentivize miners to continue securing the network, though there are some concerns that it could lead to higher transaction fees.

Magazine: The debate over Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is over: Benjamin Cowen

Source: CoinTelegraph