The mining of Bitcoin may get exhausted by 2140 says a report by a cryptocurrency financial services company. So far 90 per cent of BTC has been mined and a certain portion has been lost due to various reasons.
With more than 18.89 million bitcoins (BTC) being mined by mid of December 2021, BTC mining has reached almost 90 per cent of its maximum limit, shows research by blockchain.com, reported Indian Express. Blockchain is a cryptocurrency financial services company.
Even though the majority section of Bitcoins has been mined ever since the first block of 50 bitcoins came into the market on January 9, 2009, it would take more than a century to mine the remaining 10 per cent.
Bitcoin blockchain rewards its users with a block every time they validate and share their computer processing power. This validation of each transaction requires vast energy and processing power and generally involves solving complex cryptographic and mathematical problems. To reward them for doing such complicated energy-consuming work a block of bitcoins is gifted to them. Each block used to have 50 bitcoins at the beginning, about 12 years ago, when bitcoin mining just started.
While it might take more than a century to reach the maximum limit, one needs to keep in mind that the total number of Bitcoins is not available for open market distribution. Chainalysis, an analytics firm, indicated in their report that around 3.7 million Bitcoins have already been lost due to various reasons like loss of access to one’s private key, death and many more.
Post Bitcoin Mining Scenario
Blockchain.com said in its report, “Essentially, it's a process occurring every 2,016 blocks (two weeks) that makes it either more difficult or easier for miners to do their work.” So, it will take some more time and computer processing power to mine new bitcoins.
Currently, the average fee for every Bitcoin transaction is $15, which was as low as $1.40 (Rs 106 approx.) even till the last year. Experts believe that the underlying technology, Blockchain, has a place in the future regardless of whether the asset on this blockchain(BTC) is ending or limited.
It is also predicted that bitcoin mining costs could come down significantly once technology develops. Currently, huge computing and electrical power are needed to process each transaction on the bitcoin network. Due to this negative environmental impact, China had recently banned bitcoin mining, before this ban world’s two-thirds supply of bitcoins was coming only from China itself.
Despite being one of the most traded cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin like many other major cryptocurrencies has witnessed a steady fall in the last few days.