1 How many bitcoin have been created or mined so far?
Around 19 million Bitcoin have been created or mined to date. But do not be disappointed, there is an explanation for this.
Bitcoin is scheduled to generate new cryptocurrencies approximately every 10 minutes, each time the mining community adds a group of transactions to the block chain. Those new BTCs are the reward miners get for keeping the exchange network and their registry safe.
However, the same amount of bitcoin has not always been generated with each reward miners receive. During the first 4 years of Bitcoin’s life, 50 BTC was issued every ten minutes. Then that emission rate was reduced by half and 4 years later it was reduced again. This system of reducing the issued currencies is known as Halving and it happens exactly every time 210,000 blocks with transactions are added to the blockchain.
Bitcoin’s design turns its economy into a deflationary system
Thus, a deflationary economic system has been created. This means that the currency does not devalue as in economic systems where more money is constantly being printed.
two How many bitcoins are left to mine today?
There are about 2 million bitcoin left to be mined. Given its value and its scarcity, it is still a good amount of reward for those who want to dedicate themselves to Bitcoin mining. Keep in mind that as the years go by, the issuance of BTC will slow down. Therefore the remaining 10% will take 10 times longer to cast than the 90% that is already mined.
It is also likely that each bitcoin will become more valuable as more people demand it (this is how scarce goods are priced). So even if only a fraction of 1 BTC can be mined for decades to come, only small amounts of bitcoin will be needed to pay bills and transfer any amount of value. There are a few bitcoins left to mine from that point of view.
A bitcoin can be divided into very small fractions, a unique property
The property that allows bitcoin to be divided as much as needed is unique among all versions of cash in existence. Currently, 1 bitcoin can be divided into a million parts. But that division could be increased if necessary.
3 What guarantees that Bitcoin will continue to be mined?
An automated protocol. The programming of Bitcoin cannot be altered unless there is a consensus of the majority of users, miners and programmers. This programming has predefined indications. One such indication is the reward for mining Bitcoin. That is, by participating in the security system that protects the accounting of transactions, avoids double spending and regulates the speed with which new coins are issued.
An automated protocol allows bitcoins to be generated
The reward incentivizes the participation of individuals and entities in mining. The code that enables the rules of Bitcoin to be precisely enforced cannot be altered without the consent of the community of users, programmers, and miners.
The incentives programmed into the Bitcoin code are attractive enough for people to invest and connect their mining equipment, and compete with each other for the BTC reward. As a consequence of this competition, the network becomes more distributed. Every computer connected to the network uses the same code, with the same rules, to protect the history of all transactions.
4 How many bitcoin can I mine with an ASIC miner?
A fraction, small, but consistent if you calculate your costs well and take advantage of the fluctuations of the market. That can be a lot of money, even if it’s just a few bitcoins of all that are left to be mined.
Currently, there are so many mining teams competing with each other that It has become unlikely that a single mining team, working independently, can get the reward for mining Bitcoin.
This is why miners, even when they have more than one team, join mining pools. These pools allow all their participants to pool their computing power so that it is more likely to generate bitcoin through Proof of Work (PoW). After adding a block to the chain, the reward is divided among the pool participants.
The profits you would make with your own ASIC rig are hard to calculate. You have to consider the equipment, its power, its state of maintenance, the amount of electricity it would use and the price of that energy plus the cost of the equipment itself.
For example, if you have an Antminer S19 Pro, you could have daily earnings of hundreds of dollars per month, which has deductibles (electricity, maintenance, equipment cost over $10,000). But it also depends on which pool you choose, the fees you have to pay in your country for this activity, how much profit percentage you get when you divide the reward of 6.25 BTC plus commissions and if the market is up or down. short.
Lower performing rigs like the Antminer S9 may not generate as much profit. Maybe you can get a few tens of dollars or a little over $100 a month. This equipment is cheaper and the investments are usually recovered sooner, but they are usually equipment that is already used, so their useful life could be shorter.
Anyway, CriptoNoticias has a tutorial so you can calculate your performance with WhatToMine when mining Bitcoin. This will let you know how much bitcoin you can mine for years to come.
Some equipment requires a higher investment than others
Thoroughly investigate the costs of equipment, electricity, to calculate well which one will generate more money. Otherwise you could spend more than a year recovering your initial investment.
He considers that a new USD 10,000 rig like the Antminer S19 Pro may have high performance, but for its cost it could take time to recover the investment. Of course, you would have more years to mine if you take good care of it.
On the other hand, some previous generation equipment such as the Antminer S17 or the S9, even, are cheaper and with several equipment, good performance can be obtained. The difference would be that the investment is recovered sooner, in exchange for a lower profit in the long term and for fewer years. What you can’t escape is paying electricity.
Do not believe all the calculations that companies or equipment resellers make
Some will tell you that you will earn hundreds of cryptocurrencies just by connecting the equipment and it is not true. You must learn to use the equipment or hire someone who knows.
5 When will the last bitcoin be mined?
Approximately in the year 2140. This is known with some precision because the issuance of new bitcoins is constant, as we explained above, and it takes so long to mine the remaining 10%, because less and less are being issued.
Consider that, within 3 years, the emission will be reduced by half due to what we call Halving. And so on every 4 years. This will affect how much bitcoin can be mined in the future, probably in a positive way, as has happened so far.
In just over a decade, the miner’s reward for adding a block will be less than 1 BTC. The expectation of most miners is that much more money will be received from commissions (from more transactions) and that the price of BTC will increase, so that the cost of mining Bitcoin is compensated.
6 What will happen after the last bitcoin is mined?
The incentive for miners of the future will be trading fees. We don’t know for sure what Bitcoin will look like in 100 years, but everything seems to indicate that as its use becomes more scalable, its activity will grow.
Many payment or exchange solutions are going to work in second layers, linking funds from your financial activity only on a periodic basis, so that one million transactions are expressed as one on the main chain of Bitcoin. However, there is still a long way to go to get there.
The truth is that there will only be 21 million Bitcoin and that implies that it is impossible for there to be one for each inhabitant of the earth. Not even every millionaire could have a complete one. But a fraction of bitcoin can be a small treasure in the future.