Bitcoin Is Simple And Transparent

With Bitcoin, everything is simple and transparent. All transactions are public. The simplicity of the Bitcoin system is such that anyone who wants to understand it will be able to answer the three questions I listed above.

1. How many Bitcoins are currently in circulation?

The number of Bitcoins currently in circulation as of December 14, 2019 is just over 18.1 million BTC. This number increases every 10 minutes when a new block of transactions is validated by miners and 12.5 BTC are created and given as a reward.

Every 210,000 validated blocks, this reward is automatically halved by the Bitcoin Blockchain. The next Bitcoin Halving is scheduled for May 2020 and the reward will then decrease to 6.25 BTC.

By 2140, there will be no more rewards and the maximum 21 million Bitcoins that can be put into circulation will be mined.

2. How are the new Bitcoins created?

New Bitcoins are created when a block of transactions is validated. This validation is carried out by miners who network their computing power to secure the Bitcoin Blockchain. The creation of new Bitcoins is a reward to incentive miners to secure the Bitcoin network.

The creation of new Bitcoins does not respond to any arbitrary decision since everything is done automatically, mathematically proven, fully documented and absolutely transparent since everyone can see what is happening on the Bitcoin Blockchain by consulting the contents of its blocks.

3. Can the Bitcoin circulating supply grow indefinitely?

There is no uncertainty about this either. The maximum supply for Bitcoin is known to all and was set by Satoshi Nakamoto at 21 million BTC at the time of the creation of the Bitcoin Blockchain in 2009.

You can therefore be sure that 1 BTC of 2019 will always be equal to 1 BTC of 2050. Indeed, by owning 1 BTC today, you own 1 in 21 million. This will still be the case in 2050. Your Bitcoins will not be devalued.