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Author Topic: Max Number of Bitcoins - Then What  (Read 22768 times)
gigabytecoin
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April 25, 2011, 04:42:13 AM
 #21

If you can divide each bitcoin up to 8 decimals -> smallest amount is 0,00000001. You can have 21000000 / 0.00000001 = 210 000 000 000 000 pieces of valid bitcoin amounts. According to this article http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100813041446AAWsYaP there is probably $40 000 000 000 000.
So there is 5,25-times more bitcoins than fortune worldwide. I think humankind should be able to work with that.

Except that you can divide dollars into cents...
Ian Maxwell
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April 25, 2011, 04:50:49 AM
 #22

Consider what a half-cent was actually worth in the nineteenth century when they were being made, and what this says about the level of precision actually required to have a workable currency. Today in the US there is some serious weight behind the movement to cease production of the penny, because frankly 1/100th of the current US dollar is too much precision to be worth the trouble.

If it ever does become a problem we can always go 128-bit. As others have pointed out, this is a problem I don't think I'd mind having.

Ian Maxwell
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