Bitcoin is not real money.

[DeathAndTaxes]

As for bitcoin they will never be all mined since the network is programmed to increase the money supply as a geometric series, 21 million will not be reached.

While 21 million will not be reached the reward will go to 0.00000000 BTC unless there is a protocol change.  I can't remember the exact amount but it is just short of 21 million.

[odolvlobo]

do i misunderstand how the bitcoin client operates?  if BTC gets widely adopted, just the massive amount # of ppl running the client alone will be enough to keep the blockchain safe and running?

The typical wallet clients don't change the block chain, they just read it. Mining is what maintains the blockchain.

[JoelKatz]

do i misunderstand how the bitcoin client operates?  if BTC gets widely adopted, just the massive amount # of ppl running the client alone will be enough to keep the blockchain safe and running?

Even if they mine while running the client, it won't be enough to keep the blockchain safe because of the huge computational advantage specialized hardware has over commodity hardware. However, if transaction fees aren't enough to incentivitize mining by then, it won't be worth attacking anyway.