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Bitcoin => Bitcoin Discussion => Topic started by: jhfire on April 26, 2011, 07:02:41 AM



Title: BitCoin Coming to an End?
Post by: jhfire on April 26, 2011, 07:02:41 AM
Will BitCoin ever come to a complete stop? I mean, if more and more people find out, start mining, and join pools. Wouldn't BitCoin have inflation? Does BitCoin ever "start over" or get rid of BTC to stop inflation? I'm just wondering, cause it says that it increases the level of mining, but what if you got 1 million computers that you have access to and stick a couple of minors on them? Wouldn't that actually increase inflation? In my point of view, BitCoin seems as if it has one flaw. Who ever has the most computers or better hardware gets the most BitCoins.

Just wondering ::).


Title: Re: BitCoin Coming to an End?
Post by: fpgaminer on April 26, 2011, 07:15:05 AM
Please read:
How are new Bitcoins created? (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#How_are_new_Bitcoins_created?)

Specifically:

Quote
The reward for solving a block is automatically adjusted so that in the first 4 years of the Bitcoin network, 10,500,000 BTC will be created. The amount is halved each 4 years, so it will be 5,250,000 over years 4-8, 2,625,000 over years 8-12 and so on. Thus the total number of coins will approach 21,000,000 BTC over time.

And to answer your other question:
Quote
Who ever has the most computers or better hardware gets the most BitCoins.
Sure; if you had 90% of the money in the world, you could buy up 90% of the computing power and get 90% of the Bitcoins. So ... you'd have the same proportion of Bitcoins as you do real world money. Seems reasonable.

Computers cost money, so having the most power computers equates roughly to having the most money. So, why shouldn't those who invest heavily in mining reap a proportional reward?

And having the most Bitcoins doesn't help you. The value of those Bitcoins is dictated by those willing to accept them, not by the person with the most Bitcoins.


Title: Re: BitCoin Coming to an End?
Post by: BitterTea on April 26, 2011, 07:22:49 AM
The Bitcoin p2p network recalculates the difficulty of the block finding problem after every 2016 blocks. Based on the time it took the last 2016 blocks, it will modify the difficulty (up to +/4x), so that the next 2016 blocks will be found in 2 weeks. This causes a pretty constant 6 blocks found/hour, regardless of the computing power of the network. There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoin (2,100,000,000,000,000 individual base units or Satoshis).

It is true that monetary inflation is happening (it has to come from somewhere), but it is not centrally controlled, and it is known in advance. The problem with fiat currency inflation is its unpredictable nature, and the privilege of those who are able to acquire new money before it has devalued the old money.


Title: Re: BitCoin Coming to an End?
Post by: theymos on April 27, 2011, 03:01:29 AM
Off-topic discussion about repeat questions split (http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6606.0).