What will happen to Bitcoin After All 21 Million Are Mined?

As of August 2022, 19 million bitcoins have already been mined, with about 2.1 million bitcoins still to be released. The total Bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million.

The total number of bitcoins issued is not expected to reach 21 million anytime soon. That’s because the Bitcoin network uses bit-shift operators — arithmetic operators that round some decimal points down to the closest smallest integer. With the number of new bitcoins issued per block decreasing by half approximately every four years, the final bitcoin is not expected to be generated until the year 2140.

Bitcoin reaching its upper supply limit is likely to affect Bitcoin miners, but how they are affected depends in part on how Bitcoin evolves as a cryptocurrency. If the Bitcoin blockchain in 2140 processes many transactions, then Bitcoin miners may still be able to generate profits from only transaction processing fees.

If Bitcoin in 2140 largely serves as a store of value, rather than for daily purchases, then it’s still possible for miners to profit — even with low transaction volumes and the disappearance of block rewards. Miners can charge high transaction fees to process high-value transactions