Good news keep coming: Bitcoin plunges below $24,000 | Page 11 | Investing | Discussion forum

HermanH said
Back to the owners of the coins. If $21 million USD is bid for all the coins, then each coin is given back to the new owners of $1 each. All the currency is now out there and see where the market takes them. Do they grow in value (if someone finds a use for them) or do they just stagnate? Let the market decide.  

If Bitcoin had been designed as you suggest, with no mining required, lets follow this chronologically.

Event 1: 21 million Bitcoin is designed with no mining required.

At this point, before any transactions have taken place, who/what owns the 21 million Bitcoin? The designer? A government? If someone wishes to buy Bitcoin it must have a seller.

Event 2: The first Bitcoin transaction takes place.

Where does the buyer send their money?

qzjxk said

Where does the buyer send their money?  

Just simplify everything. Just assume that no energy or anything is required to make bitcoin. Someone just waves a wand and it all appears.

Bidders submit bids. i.e. 21 million bidders each submit bids and cash of $2/coin for a total accumulated pool of $42 million

At the end of the bid process, there is $42 million in the pool of funds for the purchase of all the coins. The money is distributed back to the 21 million bidders. If some paid more than $2/coin, then they still get the same coin. Those who bid less than $2 get a higher value coin. Once all the coins are distributed, then the secondary market trading can proceed.

I cannot explain it any better than that. I can explain it to you; I cannot make you understand.

savemoresaveoften said
all that computational power used that used tremendous amount of energy is NOT being used in any productive way. Thats my biggest beef against bitcoin. But whoever designed it is a "genius". blockchain is indeed the safest encrypted algo ever, and does have its application in a lot of financial transactions.  

Given the significant advance of DeepSeek, it might be totally conceivable that coins can be generated for virtually nothing.

HermanH said
Just simplify everything. Just assume that no energy or anything is required to make bitcoin. Someone just waves a wand and it all appears.

Bidders submit bids. i.e. 21 million bidders each submit bids and cash of $2/coin for a total accumulated pool of $42 million

At the end of the bid process, there is $42 million in the pool of funds for the purchase of all the coins. The money is distributed back to the 21 million bidders. If some paid more than $2/coin, then they still get the same coin. Those who bid less than $2 get a higher value coin. Once all the coins are distributed, then the secondary market trading can proceed.

I cannot explain it any better than that. I can explain it to you; I cannot make you understand.  

You're right, I don't understand.

Norman1 said
That's not how it works.

I understand how it currently works, as you describe. I posed a hypothetical creation scheme to have all 21 million available at the same time and to allow the market to set the value.

Overall, I propose that it does not matter, either way. If the funds all go to the creator/wand-waver, fine. My premise was, "What happens when all the coins are available?" The current system puts them out in dribs and drabs. I suggested a one-time distribution.

KamWest said

Good news keep coming: Bitcoin plunges below $24,000

HaHa, saw the headline and thought OMG, better go buy some bitcoin.  

Did you consider investing in hot air?

KamWest said

I bought two bitcoin back in the day when they hit $1000

Everyone said I was crazy but today I'm a few hundred thousand richer.

I can buy a lot of hot air for that!!

PS. I intend to keep them until they hit a million and have no intention of selling them. Worst case scenario is I lose two thousand, best case scenario I make two million.  

When you get to your 2 millions, zillion generations of worms will be grateful for having your body as a main meal.

Million... keep dreaming... it is free...

mmlt said

When btc was worth $600 I thought $10K was a pipe dream. Today it's worth $140K. One million in a few years is not so far fetched.  

I paid 1k usd now 96,108 USD x2 = 192,000 - my original investment I am up $190k.

Don't know why @CAD is so fired up, I'm already so far ahead and nowhere near worm food. I have a lot of good years left and patience grows investments.

So his argument is mute, the profit has already been made, I could cash in tomorrow but I chose to wait because I know for sure there is more to come. I've been hearing the doom and gloom Bitcoin critics for years and my investment just keeps growing.

Again, there really is no risk because I only invested 2k, where else can you turn 2k into 192k tax free. When the time comes I will move to the Bahamas and take out my two million dollar bitcoins in a tax free haven.

HermanH said
If 21 million is truly the upper limit, then why bother with all the mining effort? Why not just issue the 21 million and be done with it?  

These are the reasons for the mining aspect and the 21 Million cap.

1. Bitcoin needs a large 24/7/365 distributed network to ensure the validity of calculations which confirm and certify the bitcoins upon creation through mining and to certify the transactions while keeping a perpetual digital ledger of all transactions - this ledger is the "BlockChain". Earning Bitcoin was the incentive for independent people to create this widespread, world-wide distributed network. The long ( expected to be 30 plus years) period over which the 21 Bitcoins can be mined is to give time for a solid worldwide network to develop.

2. The 21 Million cap was to purposely create a digital currency that would retain its value forever as unlike modern country fiat currencies which can be created out of thin air, Bitcoin, after all 21 Million are mined, can no longer be created.
Retaining its value of course assumes that people eventually begin to use Bitcoin in a widespread manner by a very large number (hundreds of millions) of people to buy and sell real tangible assets. So far this has not materialized as most Bitcoin is held by very few individuals and is mostly inly traded for speculative reasons. Also, there is always the risk that Bitcoin goes to zero once "something better" comes around....such as a cryptocurrency designed and backed by a large group of countries (think G7 or G20 countries) that is actually used to buy and sell real tangible assets like homes, cars, food and everything else.... If we get past WWIII, I believe this will happen someday.

106M may own Bitcoin worldwide....but

"The distribution of Bitcoin is highly unequal, and a small number of entities control a large portion of the total supply. As of the latest data, it's estimated that around 2,000 to 3,000 Bitcoin addresses hold approximately 90% of the total Bitcoin supply"

So it is nowhere near being a true digital currency used for exchanging real world goods. It may never be....which has big risks for it going to zero.