10% Bitcoin Left: How Is It Going To Impact The Cryptocurrency Market?

Back when it was introduced in 2009, Bitcoin was treated as nothing more than a digital asset that could at best challenge the likes of digital gold (never stocks or bonds, let alone the USD). 

Fast forward to 2022, Bitcoin has become a store of value and a highly desirable asset whose market capitalization exceeds that of the biggest US companies like Berkshire Hathaway and Nvidia.

Scarcity is an often ignored component of this rise to fame of BTC. There are only 21 million BTC that can ever exist and new coins are being added every 10 minutes.

Combine this scarcity with the skyrocketing price of BTC and you’ve got the perfect recipe for creating FOMO as Bitcoin mining reaches its final stages across the next few decades. 

What Will Happen When 100% Bitcoin Gets Mined?

One could argue that the race to the buzzer began when Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first-ever block of Bitcoin in 2009. Back then, each block of Bitcoin contained 50 BTC.

But the Bitcoin model is such that the number of BTC in each block reduces by half every four years. This, as you can tell, ensures that we get to the finish line slower and slower every four years. 

There have been 3 Bitcoin mining halving events as of 2022 and each block of Bitcoin currently contains 6.25 BTC. The next halving event will make sure that only 3.125 BTC are mined per block.

Notice how halving leads to more and more decimals. To the naked eye, this might not seem like a major detail but decimals have a significant impact on the number of BTC in circulation.

These decimals are rounded off to the nearest (smallest) integer and impact both block mining and subsequent rewards, which effectively means that 21 million BTC can almost never be mined. 

What Is The Predicted Date For 100% Bitcoin Mining?

We now know that there’s a highly plausible scenario where the complete 21 million end number of BTC may not be mined. The eventual figure is likely going to be relatively lower than 21 million.

That said, the final BTC may be mined in the year 2140, based on the current rate of halving and mining. Bitcoin miners are likely to still get rewards, not for generating new blocks but for verifying transactions.  

Other implications of 100% Bitcoin being mined depends on the use case of BTC in 2140. If it’s a store of value, then people may end up hoarding vast sums and selling to the highest bidder as per experts.

How Will This Impact The Cryptocurrency Market?

Bitcoin came first. This puts a heavyweight on its shoulders in terms of expectation and direction. Most investors tend to look at the price of BTC as a general reflection of the crypto market. 

In fact, crypto is synonymous with Bitcoin to many. That’s why when the value of BTC rises or tanks, most other altcoins follow suit. It basically reaffirms confidence and trust in the crypto market.

Thus, it’s safe to assume that Bitcoin being mined to its full extent in the future will have some impact on the crypto market. For example, 100% Bitcoin mining can encourage altcoin mining.

Conclusion

As of 10-01-22, there are 18.92 million BTC in circulation and with a little over 2 million BTC left to be mined, the possibilities are endless. As the old adage goes, only time will tell how BTC’s scarcity impacts the future. 

Crypto and by association Bitcoin is still evolving and a lot of what happens in the future would depend on the regulations of today and the immediate tomorrow.

Many believe that BTC will replace the USD in the next decade while others think that Bitcoin will remain a store of value. What is certain is that Bitcoin isn’t going away anytime soon.

Note: Facts & figures are true as of 10-01-2022. None of the information shared here is to be construed as investment advice. Exercise caution when investing in unregulated assets like cryptocurrency.

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