Can Bitcoin Supply Be Manipulated?

[NatureMoves]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

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[ranochigo]

Anyone can crack the code. Just modify the block interval or the block rewards and you'll be able to increase the max supply. Problem is, due to your different block intervals (and as a result of the difficulty) and/or your different block rewards, you'll either reject the blocks generated by the network sooner or later. Effectively, you're forking Bitcoin. As a result, you're running a different Bitcoin with different rules that no one follow excepts you.

If you persuade everyone to follow your fork and replace the current Bitcoin, the effectively max cap would be raised. If no one wants to follow, nothing happens for everyone else.

[seoincorporation]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

Isn't about a user cracking the code, to apply a change on the network then more than 50% of the nodes should run with that change. In theory, this could be possible, but more than 50% of the people should be agreed with this idea and that's the complex part.

When governments print more money the coins lose their value, that could happen to bitcoin if a fork like that comes.

So, my answer is, yes, it can be manipulated but it will never happen.

[ranochigo]

it's related to the blockchain technology. if you modify one block, then this block won't be accepted by others and discarded at last. you're definitely not the first who thought about this, the designer had already figured the solution

It's not about modifying the block. The sole reason why this doesn't work is due to the fact that the Bitcoin nodes enforces the rules individually. Any deviation from the rules will not be accepted, even if the block is valid for the most part. Modifying any block would make it invalid regardless.

[madhursatija]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

Nope. It is just not possible to crack it.

[shahzadafzal]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

Yes this can happen very easily even you can do it but please don’t call it Bitcoin any more.

You can name it like Bitcoin 2,  Bitcoin 3, Bitcoin Pure Gold, Silver, Bronze, Bitcoin Titanium in fact a quick search reveals there are almost 113+ variants of Bitcoin existing. With different supply, block reward, block timing or difficulty.

In short you don’t need to crack the code, code is available online it’s an open source project you just need the community to agree to your change and your proposal and you are good to go.
Here’s the git repository of the Bitcoin source code
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin

[Pmalek]

A change, misuse, or hack of the protocol (call it whatever you want) has already happened in 2010. That later became known as the overflow bug. One user noticed a bug in Bitcoin's codebase and used that opportunity to generate 184 billion bitcoin. But because the network didn't work as it was initially configured to do, this was quickly fixed by satoshi and the bitcoin developers because those generated bitcoins didn't follow a previously laid out emission plan.

You can read more about the overflow bug here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=822.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=823.0

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Isn't manipulating the supply called forking? As far as I know, bitcoin supply can be manipulated but it wouldn't be the same because bitcoin supply is already set in stone and any further changes has to happen when it was still in development.

[Spack17]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

There is a possibility of course. But you shouldn't forget that you will be forking Bitcoin when you try to do such thing. And that means you need the majority to use your version. And I don't think the majority of people would like to support such thing. Because let's say you increased the max supply. But then the price will also go down and Bitcoin will be less valuable.

[Kakmakr]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

There is no code to crack. Anyone can make changes to the Bitcoin Protocol, but full nodes have to accept the changes and I doubt that it will ever happen.... also once the changes has been done, people will have to use that implementation and that will also not happen.

An increase in the Supply will de-valuate the coins that are now owned by people and that is one of the major reasons why they will not accept this change.  

The protocol is code, but 1000's of full nodes has to accept the new fork for it to be implemented.  

[Lucius]

This is one of the questions that people often ask, because it is difficult for them to understand who and in what way controls this limit. Max supply is one of the trademarks associated with Bitcoin, something the vast majority agree on as something not to be touched, and fortunately developers working on improvements to existing protocols agree on it.

Yet those who think they are late to buy cheap often resort to this idea as something that would of course bring down the price and allow everyone to buy BTC cheap. But one such change of protocol would not only have short-term consequences, because who would ever believe after that it would not happen again? I believe that BTC would lose its place as the leading cryptocurrency in the event of such nonsense, and all those who have criticized it over the years would begin to celebrate the fall of the king from the throne.

[ranochigo]

As far as I know, bitcoin supply can be manipulated but it wouldn't be the same because bitcoin supply is already set in stone and any further changes has to happen when it was still in development.

Yes. You can fork Bitcoin Core to increase the block subsidy logic or it's block intervals. It is never really set in stone; any changes to the consensus rules which is incompatible with other clients results in a hard fork. This means that someone can create a new Bitcoin with a larger block rewards. If you're going to generate a block with a larger block reward, it won't be accepted by the nodes running this current version of Bitcoin and thus both chain inevitably deviates.

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

Yes this can happen very easily even you can do it but please don’t call it Bitcoin any more.

If Ver can call it Bitcoin then why not OP 😜

Anything forked from Bitcoin is not Bitcoin anymore, it's altcoin but people like Ver thinks that become bitcoin and Bitcoin becomes Bitcoin core.

@NatureMoves, supply or anything can be manipulated but that will be your own coin. It's the piece of code you change and fork Bitcoin.

[Fesatmas]

is it some kind of block manipulation by duplicating each node in use and then moving it on the blockchain data. if to decode each individual it depends on how the system can read from block to block. as WBTC refers to blockchain with the same system, then the price is almost the same, but I have always known that China wants to carry out this manipulation, so that it is no longer continued until now. long ago China had said that they wanted to increase the supply of bitcoin.

[worle1bm]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

If you want to make any change in the Bitcoin then you should propose BIP to the the core miners are responsible for any change in the network.If they found it useful and efficient the changes would be added in the Bitcoin code on the GitHub which is open source.You cannot make changes by cracking code of your own as network concesus is required with more than 50% vote of all the participants of the network like full nodes.The main control is Blockstream who make any final changes to the Bitcoin code  on GitHub as they have included many implementation suggested through BIP which is Bitcoin Improvement Protocol.So it's just that way.

[Innerpumper]

Bitcoin has only one network. Even if you fake it it will still be different. Maybe you can cheat with fake bitcoins but that won't be believed. you are the only owner of the coin.

[sheenshane]

Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

If there's someone who will be broke the code protocol of Bitcoin, it might change the fundamental principle of what Bitcoin had.
Like:

• Pseudonymous
• Irreversible Transactions
• Open-Source
• Decentralization
• No censorship
• Max supply 21 Million

However, it's theoretically that it could be changed as what said most above but there's a consensus, through hard fork everything will change that should be adopted by the co-developers, users, and the miners the new Bitcoin code.  We have now so many Bitcoin forked coins with infinite supply, since Bitcoin is open source and you can modify the code, they can create new coins and copy cat from Bitcoin code but it now a different name.

[NatureMoves]

So there are 21 million total because that is how it was coded. Will it be possible to increase the supply or even make it infinite if someone was able to crack the code?

In short you don’t need to crack the code, code is available online it’s an open source project you just need the community to agree to your change and your proposal and you are good to go.

Interesting...so all I need is to be good in sales & marketing this "new" Bitcoin and I'm good to go?   Ok I suck at that...I can't even persuade my husband to not mow the lawn lol

[Dhoe]

Bitcoin supply have final and there are not any developer have bitcoin on their supply because the creator of bitcoin was gone, I think if altcoin could be manipulated supply but can't for bitcoin, how ever many people loss their bitcoin assets because private key have gone and make bitcoin supply more increase little.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Isn't about a user cracking the code, to apply a change on the network then more than 50% of the nodes should run with that change.

This is completely wrong. The set of consensus rules is not manipulated by the majority. When you're running a node, you're obeying these rules in order for your node to be considered as a "Bitcoin Node". A change in the consensus rules means that you're not obeying, which also means that you're not following the bitcoin blockchain. These rules were set by Satoshi and they can't change just because the majority says so.

In other words, if the majority of nodes decide to change one of these rules, they instantly stop being the majority.