75% of bitcoin mined?

[metalbean]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

[mocacinno]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

The block reward halves roughly every 4 years (actually it halves after x blocks, just can't remember the exact number):
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Controlled_supply

At one point, the reward will go from 1 satoshi to 0 satoshi's, and every bitcoin will be mined. This will not stop miners from mining blocks for the fees tough, so the network probably will not stop once the block reward goes to 0.

This isn't a real problem, since bitcoin can be divided into smaller parts if needed, so even if the complete population would use BTC, it would still be usable. In this fictive example, there will be problems with the size of the blocks tough, so thing like the lightning network will be necessary if this would ever happen.

Is it unfair for the late adopters? Well, that's an open discussion... Most people could have started mining in the beginning, or bought BTC when the price was low, but most people didn't (myself included). You can call this unfair, but in reality, maybe it's not that unfair, since nothing was hidden or premined....

[Foxpup]

What does this even mean?

It means what it sounds like. Of the 21 million bitcoins that will eventually be mined, nearly 16 million already have.

If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency?

There is only so much of any currency in circulation. Dollars, gold, seashells, you name it, there's only a limited amount to go around. A currency can't function unless there's only a limited amount of it; if there's unlimited money for everyone, what incentive does anyone have to work or sell things?

wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

Early adopters of a currency take the risk that it might never be widely accepted and the currency will become worthless. This risk must be taken into account when considering any advantage earlier adopters may have. It is not clear to me what you mean by "an alternate monopoly"; everyone who holds currency does so with the intention of eventually spending it, at which point the currency will flow into the hands of other people (specifically, people who provide goods or services worth paying the money for).

[NeuroticFish]

You can see some nice stats at http://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/
Some numbers of interest:
Total Bitcoins in circulation:   15,938,525
Total Bitcoins to ever be produced:   21,000,000
Percentage of total Bitcoins mined:   75.90%
Total Bitcoins left to mine:   5,061,475

Now the miners are paid from transaction fees and from "block reward".
The block reward decreases over time (it's called halving, see the link from the previous post) and it will become 0 at some point.
From then the miners will have to rely only on the fees.

Just:
* there's a lot of time until the block reward will become 0, nothing to worry about yet.
* Miners have to pay for their tools (ROI) and electricity, so they'll sell Bitcoin; it's not really such a monopoly. You can buy whenever you want / afford. Just beware, some still call Bitcoin a risky investment because of the high volatility.


(Sorry Foxpup if some things you wrote are here too, I've seen your post only now, when I finished mine and I'm a bit lazy on editing/reformulating)

[piloder]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

All things you have mentioned seem true however the early holders never gonna keep holding all bitcoin they have till all bitcoin get mined for sure other than satoshi, as till now satoshi haven't moved any of his coins. So i don't think there will be fear of market monopoly untill satoshi starts to move his millions of coins (which i don't think will happen ever).

[Xester]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

All things you have mentioned seem true however the early holders never gonna keep holding all bitcoin they have till all bitcoin get mined for sure other than satoshi, as till now satoshi haven't moved any of his coins. So i don't think there will be fear of market monopoly untill satoshi starts to move his millions of coins (which i don't think will happen ever).

Yes your opinion on the matter is exactly what i had in mind. Maybe the author doesnt really understand how the market works. In understanding bitcoin it is necessary not to focus only on mining but on the market, on the demand and supply and the market price trend. But as you said, the author has nothing to fear since bitcoin users grow more and more everyday even it has millions in circulation if it will be out it will still be distributed to potential buyers and users.

[Shiroslullaby]

Once all the coins are created, miners make money by verifying transactions and updating the blockchain?
(Im a little confused as to what role miners have at that point and how confirming transactions works.)

[Kakmakr]

It is a open market ole chap, anyone with money is free to buy as much bitcoin as he or she desires. Everyone has a price, so there will always be someone willing to sell at a specific price. New coins are being mined every day, so there is a injection of new coins into the system, daily.

The early adopters might have a slight advantage, but that is just reward for their bravery and insight when nobody else saw potential in the technology. ^smile^

[yayayo]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

No, it's not unfair. That's socialist nonsense and it is not a problem for the general acceptance of Bitcoin as a currency. For the early adopters of Bitcoin there was no assurance that Bitcoin would ever succeed and grow to the economic proportions it has today. So in the early days, investing in Bitcoin involved higher risks than today. The first adopters of Bitcoin were smart people that were at the right place at the right time. Only because of their initial involvement in Bitcoin and their willingness to take risks, Bitcoin could grow to what it is today. So every single Satoshi these early adopters hold is well deserved.

In fact Bitcoin is much less monopolized than traditional fiat currency. Also the deflationary effects of Bitcoin are not promoting monopolization like inflationary fiat currency does. That's because even poorer people can easily maintain the buying power of their savings by just holding BTC. In addition, Bitcoin makes international trade easier for everybody, especially for small businesses in developing countries. So in fact, Bitcoin is a highly attractive currency, even if (almost) all coins are mined. It might even become more attractive as generation of new coins diminishes, because real deflation of monetary supply may set in (coins getting lost due to usage errors).

ya.ya.yo!

[Hazir]

It is a open market ole chap, anyone with money is free to buy as much bitcoin as he or she desires. Everyone has a price, so there will always be someone willing to sell at a specific price. New coins are being mined every day, so there is a injection of new coins into the system, daily.

The early adopters might have a slight advantage, but that is just reward for their bravery and insight when nobody else saw potential in the technology. ^smile^

I wouldn't exactly call owning more than 1 million BTC (IIRC 7.5% of total BTC supply) by Satoshi a slight advantage.
One day it might bite us in the ass and crash whole market as a result ruin everything bitcoin achieved.

[safari88]

anyone can buy bitcoin to own or use and not have to get it for free, because obviously it would be difficult if bitcoin is almost gone mined.
and this may be applicable to users in the future.

[thejaytiesto]

This is not a problem and its hard coded and intended, the fact that we know the total supply n in a predictable way is a strong point for Bitcoin. After 100% of coins are mined, there will still be mining to process the transactions. Getting coins is just a side effect, the main point of mining is to process transactions. Miners will get paid fees even when 100% of coins are mined.

[streazight]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

The block reward halves roughly every 4 years (actually it halves after x blocks, just can't remember the exact number):
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Controlled_supply

At one point, the reward will go from 1 satoshi to 0 satoshi's, and every bitcoin will be mined. This will not stop miners from mining blocks for the fees tough, so the network probably will not stop once the block reward goes to 0.

This isn't a real problem, since bitcoin can be divided into smaller parts if needed, so even if the complete population would use BTC, it would still be usable. In this fictive example, there will be problems with the size of the blocks tough, so thing like the lightning network will be necessary if this would ever happen.

Is it unfair for the late adopters? Well, that's an open discussion... Most people could have started mining in the beginning, or bought BTC when the price was low, but most people didn't (myself included). You can call this unfair, but in reality, maybe it's not that unfair, since nothing was hidden or premined....

You made it very cear for easy understanding. Bitcoin mining will not stop as you mention it will go with network fees. I do not see bitcoin failing for any reason but those that were to adopt bitcoin late are the ones to regret why they did not do so at the right. For sure everything about bitcoin future shall be positive.

[sakinaka]

In fact there's not 21 000 000 millions of bitcoins, but 21 000 000 000 000 satoshis, and trust me, even 21 000 000 is enough, so think about the number of satoshis !

[mobnepal]

Bitcoin will always be keep circulating from one hand to another so the one which have lots of bitcoin may not have those bitcoin after a decade or within next few years if he sold it to buy another alts or properties. So actually like other fiat currencies bitcoin is also circulating through out the world and are not controlled by any entity or few billionaires. This suggest that there may not be any monopoly by early holders when bitcoin will be world's digital currency or accepted in almost every place in world.

[p_linz]

In fact there's not 21 000 000 millions of bitcoins, but 21 000 000 000 000 satoshis, and trust me, even 21 000 000 is enough, so think about the number of satoshis !

and what is the difference between 2 100 000 000 000 000 satoshis and 21 000 000 bitcoins? isn't 1 bitcoin 100 000 000 sat?

[raphma]

One day it might bite us in the ass and crash whole market as a result ruin everything bitcoin achieved.

and why would he do that? he could simple sell a few everyday without any problem.... so why crash the market? i dont see that as a big deal... because i don't see satoshi doing such a thing.

[calkob]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

WHAT??? are you talking about. the more that people want bitcoin the more each bitcoin will be worth, you have become stupid sucking at the tit of the fed......

[btvGainer]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

Nobody wants to create a monopoly with bitcoin for if all bitcoin is remained in the hands of few people,bitcoin will become useless and thus valueless.Bitcoin becoming mainstream is more beneficial to everyone who holds even a single satoshi because that is how bitcoin price may go up

[Yakamoto]

What does this even mean? If there is only so much BTC in circulation how can it grow to become a widely accepted currency? wouldn't this give an unfair advantage to holders like us, and causes an alternate monopoly which eventually will fail the objective of becoming a widely accepted currency?

It can be argued that earlier adopters will have a bit more of a monopoly on bitcoin than people embracing it later on in its lifespan, however just like with what happened for the earliest of users, something is likely going to happen down the line that will be similar to what we saw. Eventually the Bitcoin will spread around, and even though it will (likely) have a large value then it will spread out to everyone eventually.

The 75% is growing at a decreasing rate, as the amount mine-able is halved every 4 years.