What if Bitcoin block rewards suddenly stopped tomorrow?

[krishnaverma]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

[notocactus]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

Tomorrow in this context is very near, and it is not any day in 2140 and after that, so Bitcoin miners will get both Bitcoin block subsidy (reward) and Bitcoin transaction fee that are all good for their mining business and its positive revenue.

In the future, naturally Bitcoin value and price will increase if its history repeats and this mean Bitcoin miners will get less bitcoins from their mining but get more $ in equivalent value. This will be a long future in 2140 and after that if Bitcoin continue its existence about more than one century in the future.

Bitcoin block subsidy from 50 bitcoins to 25 bitcoins then halved more every 210,000 blocks but its equivalent income for Bitcoin miners increases over time. Let's check back that 50 bitcoin in 2009 had less $ in value than 3.125 bitcoins in 2025 and it's the same change trend with Bitcoin transaction fees over years.

[pooya87]

It cannot happen because there is a protocol being enforced by the full nodes as part of the decentralized network and in that protocol the block subsidy is clearly defined and it cannot suddenly "stop" without performing a hard fork to change the protocol first. And that's not happening either.

[hugeblack]

Yes, even with no transaction fees, mining will continue as long as Bitcoin's value is high.

[Outhue]

Mining will continue as always, many of us won't be alive in the next 60years to this time and through all this time mining will continue as usual, the demand of Satoshis will be insane at the time. You have 0.000*** BTC and you feel it's worthless now? It won't be in the future, so relax OP and enhoy your time with Bitcoin while you still can.

I had some leftover BTC on Bitpay wallet some years ago, recently I import the seed onto a mobile wallet and I got 0.001BTC on it, free money but worth something, paid some bills with it since I have main wallet for my BTC holding, it's been there since 2017 because it was worthless.

[Oshosondy]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

If there is no mining reward, all miners will stop mining and no one will be able to process bitcoin transaction. But this is what that can not be possible. Bitcoin mining will continue and there is nothing that can stop it.

Tomorrow in this context is very near, and it is not any day in 2140 and after that, so Bitcoin miners will get both Bitcoin block subsidy (reward) and Bitcoin transaction fee that are all good for their mining business and its positive revenue.

Even after 2140, bitcoin mining will continue, block reward will continue but just that it will be transaction fees and no newly mined bitcoin in the reward.

[BitGoba]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

This is just another one of the many FUDs spread by scammers and Bitcoin haters, like the claim that quantum computers will destroy Bitcoin and similar stories. This FUD is pushed by fake shitcoiner scammers trying to distract you from understanding and adopting Bitcoin, so that you end up buying their pre-mined tokens and shitcoins like Ethereum.
Scammers and insiders from Ethereum love to spread this story about the security budget.

If you dive a bit deeper into this rabbit hole, you realize that the “Security Budget” problem doesn’t actually exist. Pierre Rochard explained it perfectly a few days ago on Twitter,there’s no real issue with Bitcoin’s security budget.

https://x.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1956151795287515230

[ABCbits]

I just notice that OP really likes to talk about what if scenario.

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

If that actually happens, it probably means all full node software have same bug or backdoor that makes miner unable to claim expected mining reward. I willl let you imagine what kind of news would be written if such speculation come across to writer of news media.

[OcTradism]

Yes, even with no transaction fees, mining will continue as long as Bitcoin's value is high.

I believe that transaction fees are very important to keep Bitcoin blockchain movings to new blocks. Bitcoin miners can get income from Bitcoin block reward that halves every 210,000 blocks but transaction fees don't have a trend like this. It can increase or decrease over time depends on demands on Bitcoin on chain transactions as well as technical designs for Bitcoin transactions, transaction sizes, fee rates that decide transaction fees.

Without transaction fees, Bitcoin blockchain will be nearly a dead blockchain especially it will only possile in 2140 year. Without Bitcoin block reward and also without transaction fees, it's hard for Bitcoin miners continuing their mining activities.

[_act_]

but transaction fees don't have a trend like this. It can increase or decrease over time depends on demands on Bitcoin on chain transactions as well as technical designs for Bitcoin transactions, transaction sizes, fee rates that decide transaction fees.

Bitcoin price will only increase after a long time, it will not decrease if compared. Bitcoin has proved this times without number.

Without transaction fees, Bitcoin blockchain will be nearly a dead blockchain especially it will only possile in 2140 year.

Only new bitcoin will not be mined at the time, there will be new blocks and transaction fee will fully or more than 99.99% replace new bitcoin generation.

[Wiwo]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

Should we keep imagining what can never happened because we don't have time to keep discussing things that can never come through when we have more important things to discuss, Bitcoin protocol already have an established law which rewards miner's for doing the job confirming Bitcoin transaction.

We can only get block rewards reductions in the future as the Bitcoin cycles keep halving, but there will never be a time were minners be getting zero rewards.

[Findingnemo]

~

Just imagine 100 years fast forward, and someone is reading this thread, and who knows this could become an iconic thread to remember.

The answer is pretty simple to the Op's question. Yes, miners will keep mining blocks as long the rewards from the fees is able to compensate their operating expense along with some profit, even if it's a little. And no if the fees are not enough to cover the electricity expenses.

[TokenTikas]

If it suddenly stops, it will be difficult to sustain mining on transaction fees alone. This would certainly put security at risk and the future of bitcoin would be uncertain. But only time will tell whether it can survive. I don't think that will happen at all. But if it does, the market would be completely destroyed.

[Nathrixxx]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

With everything that bitcoin is made of, it cannot collapse, the mining continues until all the 210,000 blocks are completely mined, which is the 21 million Bitcoin in total, if my o more mining, then miners receive incentives from the transaction fees, which has nothing to do with bitcoin being in existence or not, because there are set protocols that must be in concession before anything can be done in using the network, not even the miners can change this or alter it.

[ZAINmalik75]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

First of all, Bitcoin block rewards won't suddenly stop because it's not a centralized system which is under the control of an entity that can decide when they are going to stop the block rewards, it's a system that is automated and decentralized, and the rewards will only stop once all the bitcoins are mined and in circulation, and that is estimated to happen in the year 2140. Before that, only halvings will happen, which will cut the rewards in half after every four years, which will keep reducing the block rewards for miners.

Once all the bitcoins are mined, miners will still be getting rewards through transaction fees, and transaction fees aren't that low for every block, miners can sometime get good rewards only from the transaction fees even if they are not getting anything as block reward. Besides, who knows, by the time block rewards are finished, Bitcoin might have a very high value, and even the fees might be enough for miners.

[Obim34]

If it suddenly stops, it will be difficult to sustain mining on transaction fees alone. This would certainly put security at risk and the future of bitcoin would be uncertain. But only time will tell whether it can survive. I don't think that will happen at all. But if it does, the market would be completely destroyed.

Don't expect us to live in the future, we cannot tell exactly what will happen by then but analysis from what we have presently tells us that surviving on transaction fees will be possible, new miners are going to evolve and some older miners will also have to drop because they can't match the cost of running a mine, but it is certain that miners are going to exist because our transaction fees will be worth a reasonable amount as reward to existing miners.

[serjent05]

Without mining rewards, would miners keep the network alive with just transaction fees, or would Bitcoin collapse?

This is impossible to happen, even if put in a theoretical scenario as long as there is no modification on the block reward.  The code, unless modified, won't give chance for this to happen and Bitcoin creator had long published the date of when the block reward would become zero.  It was well planned and give enough time for adoption to make the mined transaction fees enough for the miner to stay.

[OcTradism]

Bitcoin price will only increase after a long time, it will not decrease if compared. Bitcoin has proved this times without number.

In short term, price can be very volatile, bearish and it makes people fearful while in long term, Bitcoin value increases, hence Bitcoin price will soar consequently and it can not be broken by any fud attacks or market manipulations.

Only new bitcoin will not be mined at the time, there will be new blocks and transaction fee will fully or more than 99.99% replace new bitcoin generation.

I knew, after all 21M bitcoins appeared from Bitcoin mining and Bitcoin block subsidies, all avaialble bitcoins in total supply will exist and no more new bitcoins, but bitcoins will continue to be circulated through transactions on chain, trades among people.

Bitcoin miners in the future, very far future in and after 2140, will get their Proof of Work salary only in Bitcoin transaction fees.

[krishnaverma]

If it suddenly stops, it will be difficult to sustain mining on transaction fees alone. This would certainly put security at risk and the future of bitcoin would be uncertain. But only time will tell whether it can survive. I don't think that will happen at all. But if it does, the market would be completely destroyed.

Is it practically possible under any scenario ?

[shinratensei_]

Probably we will lose some hashrate but the difficulty will adjust as there's fewer miners and the fee become profitable enough for the remaining miners to keep on mining.

If it suddenly stops, it will be difficult to sustain mining on transaction fees alone. This would certainly put security at risk and the future of bitcoin would be uncertain. But only time will tell whether it can survive. I don't think that will happen at all. But if it does, the market would be completely destroyed.

Is it practically possible under any scenario ?

It's literally coded onto the blockchain so yeah it's impossible unless consensus agreed to change things around, just my understanding though, correct me if i'm wrong.