Bitcoin analyst and advocate Luke Broyles has provided a thought-provoking forecast about the energy demands required to mine the final Bitcoin, predicting it will be an event of unparalleled significance in digital history.
Broyles asserts that the energy required to mine the final Satoshi—the smallest unit of Bitcoin—will surpass the combined energy spent to mine the first 20 million BTC. He further predicts that the process of producing this last Bitcoin could consume energy well into the early 22nd century, potentially spanning the entire first third of that century.
In his view, the creation of the final Satoshi will demand “infinite energy,” though whether this statement is meant literally or figuratively remains uncertain. Broyles suggests that Bitcoin’s model of digital scarcity is engineered to reach an endpoint of immense difficulty, one that may be difficult for many to comprehend.
Halving Events Lead to Increased Mining Difficulty
Bitcoin undergoes a halving event approximately every four years, which reduces the mining rewards by half. This not only slows down the mining process but also increases the resources required to extract new Bitcoin. The most recent halving reduced the reward to 3.125 BTC, with the next halving event scheduled to cut it to 1.5625 BTC.
Currently, Bitcoin’s total supply is capped at 21 million coins. Of that total, 19.85 million have already been mined, leaving just 1.15 million BTC remaining. Due to the halving process, it will take years to mine these remaining coins, and the last Bitcoin is expected to be mined by the end of 2140. Afterward, no new Bitcoins will be introduced into circulation, and miners will rely solely on transaction fees to validate transactions and maintain the blockchain.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $94,181, having previously reached an all-time high of $109,114 in January.
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