It is wrong to say that new BTC are created in mining?

[Crisprsac]

Hello all
Is it a mistake to say that BTC mining generates new coins? Would it be more correct to say that new coins come into circulation, because the total was already defined previously and they were in reserve? And if so, where is that reserve?

[Poker Player]

I don't know what those with more technical knowledge of the subject will say but to me you are asking a semantic question that doesn't matter a bit. Whether they are new or somehow already exist and are put into circulation is not what is relevant. What is relevant is that there can never be more than 21 million (barring the unlikely event of a consensus against), that 6.25 bitcoins are currently mined on average every 10 minutes, and that that reward will be halved by 2024 etc.

[nc50lc]

Hello all
Is it a mistake to say that BTC mining generates new coins? Would it be more correct to say that new coins come into circulation, because the total was already defined previously and they were in reserve? And if so, where is that reserve?

It is fine to say that.
New coins aren't pre-generated or reserved, Bitcoin isn't like tokens with defined total amount.

Bitcoin's 21million supply isn't because there's already 21m bitcoins in reserve (it's not a hard-cap either).
But it's based from the calculated "block rewards" from the first block, to successive "halving" until it reach 0.

github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/src/validation.cpp#L1068-L1078
<Link edited to highlight the correct lines>

[Crisprsac]

Is that I read that:
"The payment is made with coins that are in reserve and at that time they enter into circulation, this is why it is erroneously believed that cryptocurrency mining consists of generating new coins. The coins are already previously defined, however, through mining it is possible to get new coins into circulation"
And it caused me doubt because I also thought it was just a matter of semantics, unimportant, but now I don't know if technically it is a mistake to say "new BTC", or it was an eccentricity of the document I read

[Crisprsac]

Hello all
Is it a mistake to say that BTC mining generates new coins? Would it be more correct to say that new coins come into circulation, because the total was already defined previously and they were in reserve? And if so, where is that reserve?

It is fine to say that.
New coins aren't pre-generated or reserved, Bitcoin isn't like tokens with defined total amount.

Bitcoin's 21million supply isn't because there's already 21m bitcoins in reserve (it's not a hard-cap either).
But it's based from the calculated "block rewards" from the first block, to successive "halving" until it reach 0.

https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/src/validation.cpp#L1143-L1154

Thank you very much, doubt clarified

[nc50lc]

From what article is it? (I mean, the quoted part of your previous post)
Google search with the quote only returns with article for "Trading" and it may be talking about cryptocurrency in general, not Bitcoin specifically.

Read these instead of random internet articles:

• en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining | en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining#Reward
• learnmeabitcoin.com/technical/mining

[pooya87]

"The payment is made with coins that are in reserve and at that time they enter into circulation, this is why it is erroneously believed that cryptocurrency mining consists of generating new coins. The coins are already previously defined, however, through mining it is possible to get new coins into circulation"

Your first comment was somewhat correct, even though it is still best to say "new coins are generated in mining". But this quote is wrong. First of all it is talking about "cryptocurrency" mining not bitcoin mining in particular, and we can't really talk about thousands of altcoins with at least two dozen different algorithms like this. There may be an altcoin with pre-defined coins that enter circulation when the creator decides but it is not generally true about all of them.

[Crisprsac]

From what article is it? (I mean, the quoted part of your previous post)
Google search with the quote only returns with article for "Trading" and it may be talking about cryptocurrency in general, not Bitcoin specifically.

Read these instead of random internet articles:

• en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining | en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining#Reward
• learnmeabitcoin.com/technical/mining

The article is https://www.welivesecurity.com/la-es/2018/06/22/mineria-criptomonedas-respuesta-tres-preguntas-frecuentes/

At the end of question 1 "Mining cryptocurrencies: what does it mean?" there was talk about BTC

The article is outdated, and in Spanish, but it caught my attention that it says "new BTC" it is an error.

Now I confirm that it is an error of whoever wrote it, thanks for the clarifications, and sorry about my English

[BlackHatCoiner]

Now I confirm that it is an error of whoever wrote it, thanks for the clarifications, and sorry about my English

Beware of the articles especially when their topic is about cryptocurrencies. They may bring confusion. I don't fault them, though; learning about Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency at a technical level isn't easy. It is required from you to ask questions whenever you feel you have to.

For Bitcoin, study from reliable sources such as bitcoin.it, bitcoin.stackexchange.com, learnmeabitcoin.com. I personally consider this forum great if you're newbie and thirsty to learn.

[n0nce]

For Bitcoin, study from reliable sources such as bitcoin.it, bitcoin.stackexchange.com, learnmeabitcoin.com. I personally consider this forum great if you're newbie and thirsty to learn.

Those are good resource, but OP please
1. Check the date of when the article was last updated on bitcoin.it
2. Check when the question is answered on bitcoin.stackexchange.com

If it's too old, it might no longer relevant today.

Addition to all of the above: use the search feature in Bitcointalk. I don't think there was a topic like this so far, so we're all good, but many questions / unclear things already have a topic here and the 'Google Search' feature helps find those easily (click on search icon, then use the feature).

[Crisprsac]

Thanks all, I'm trying to learn Bitcoin at technical level (I love it) but I'm still a newbie. Thanks for the advices, I will follow them

[Syke]

Hello all
Is it a mistake to say that BTC mining generates new coins? Would it be more correct to say that new coins come into circulation, because the total was already defined previously and they were in reserve? And if so, where is that reserve?

Don't think of bitcoins as "coins". They're not, they're the results of inputs and outputs. The bitcoins you see in your wallet are the unspent outputs of previous inputs. Mined coins are truly new. They have no inputs.

[nc50lc]

Hello all
Is it a mistake to say that BTC mining generates new coins? -snip-

Don't think of bitcoins as "coins". They're not, they're the results of inputs and outputs. The bitcoins you see in your wallet are the unspent outputs of previous inputs. Mined coins are truly new. They have no inputs.

On the contrary, some clients are referring "Unspent Transaction Outputs" as "Coins".
Example: Electrum has the wallet's available UTXO in the GUI displayed as "Coins" tab (View->Show Coins).

I think it's fine as a non-technical term for UTXO.

[pooya87]

I think it's fine as a non-technical term for UTXO.

It is more than fine. In fact using the "coin analogy" which is referring to UTXOs as coins is a common and easy way of helping people understand how bitcoin works. Here is a wiki link on that subject: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Coin_analogy