Bitcoin is a digital currency that has been the talk of the town for several years now. It is the first decentralized digital currency that operates without a central bank or a single administrator. Instead, it uses a peer-to-peer network that allows users to send and receive payments without the need for intermediaries. One of the most important aspects of Bitcoin is its supply, which is limited to 21 million coins. But how many new bitcoins are created every day?
Bitcoin is created through a process called mining, which involves solving complex mathematical problems. Miners verify transactions and add them to the blockchain, a public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions. In return, they receive a reward in the form of newly created bitcoins. The reward is halved every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every four years, in order to control the supply of new bitcoins.
Currently, the reward for mining a block is 6.25 bitcoins. This means that every ten minutes, 6.25 new bitcoins are created. This equates to 900 new bitcoins being created every day. However, it is important to note that this number is not fixed and will decrease over time.
The rate at which new bitcoins are created is predetermined by the Bitcoin protocol. This is done to ensure that the supply of bitcoins is limited and that the currency maintains its value. Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, designed the protocol to mimic the mining process of gold. The idea is that, like gold, Bitcoin is a scarce resource that requires effort to obtain.
As the reward for mining new blocks decreases, the process becomes less profitable for miners. This means that fewer people will be interested in mining Bitcoin, which could lead to a decrease in the overall security of the network. To counteract this, transaction fees are added to the rewards for mining new blocks. This incentivizes miners to continue verifying transactions and adding them to the blockchain.
In conclusion, 900 new bitcoins are created every day through the mining process. This number will continue to decrease over time as the reward for mining new blocks is halved. The limited supply of bitcoins is a key feature of the currency, and it is designed to ensure that it maintains its value over time. While the exact number of new bitcoins created every day may change, the underlying principles of Bitcoin remain the same.