I realize that asking folks to peer into the murky future is inviting a lot of wild speculation. However, speculation about future event possibilities can sometimes spark innovative ideas. At the risk of drowning in a sea of ridicule, I ask these questions:
1. What will all of the monster hashing machines do after the last coin is mined?
The last coin will
never be mined (
see also).
But even if it would, mining would still continue as normal, as new
blocks would still be mined. They just wouldn't generate any new
bitcoins, but it will remain profitable for people to keep mining nonetheless, for the transaction fees.
In fact, long before this last coin would be mined (which is never, but for argument's sake) the block reward (i.e. generation of new bitcoins) is already becoming insignificant compared to the transaction fees.
2. What will the peer-to-peer network be doing?
Same as now.
3. What are the large holders going to do with their massive collections of BTC?
Same as now. And same as large holders of massive collections of Euros, Dollars or gold.. Live in wealth, and spend it on hookers and coke, I suppose.
