Topic: Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation vanish? (Read 227 times)
If bitcoins are traded for fiat, this means that some other people took the coins' ownership in exchange of fiat. There is no loss of bitcoin during the exchange but rather it only changed hands. Furthermore, the 21 million limit on supply can be further divided into smaller units, thus partly eliminating your concern of bitcoin vanishing. While 21 million seems to be an arbitrary number, I don't think satoshi hadn't think of any countermeasures regarding your worry.
Do not be too hysterical. Bitcoin is there to stay and even if you see thousands to millions of owners start selling their bitcoin, there will be people that are always waiting for the bottom to catch those bitcoins. It's a market that there's always the takers and the sellers. Also, there have been a huge number of lost bitcoins forever and they have a value that's contributing to the market cap that cannot be removed anymore. As you've said bitcoin should be used for payment as the real intent of satoshi and if somebody sold his bitcoin to buy for something, that's on him and it's about profit-taking.
When talking about the future, I don't think it's difficult because adoption is booming, besides that, payment methods via bitcoin are now starting to happen.we can't know about the future but when it comes to speculation this is very likely to happen because the bitcoin era is getting better and better.
...
Even when that problem comes, and perhaps I wouldn't call it a problem, it's just a feature of supply and demand - we would expect the price per coin to increase. Right now there are probably millions of coins that are forever locked away and will not be recovered. The true supply of Bitcoin that could ever be in circulation is less than 21 million. The current price per coin factors in all Bitcoin in circulation, so if some were permanently lost from the supply, the remaining coins in circulation would just increase in value.
<…>
The OP’s concern was rather naïve to place it kindly, and that is something that the posts in this thread mostly address and debunk through logical arguments. Your post seems to have gone no further than the heading, lacking the context provided by the OP, and versing on something rather different and pretty disjoined. 
I hope that the OP will learn something from all the answers he received - and that he will not be angry with anyone because we are surprised for a reason - 1 year on the forum is not a short time to understand at least some basics. I believe there are others who think like OP or something like that, and it's never too late to learn something new - and maybe pass that knowledge on to someone else.
Misunderstanding what Bitcoin really is, is a big obstacle to greater adaptation, and I don't just mean individuals like OPs - but politicians and powerful people who aren't as intelligent as they seem.
Misunderstanding what Bitcoin really is, is a big obstacle to greater adaptation, and I don't just mean individuals like OPs - but politicians and powerful people who aren't as intelligent as they seem.
Yea, you could say that he/she probably was just MIA that whole year hence the lack of knowledge, but like come on OP already has 302 posts.
Again, no offense to OP, but it's really just a bizarre question to be asking after being here for a while. 
There is no depreciation as to the supply of Bitcoin. A Bitcoin cannot vanish. It is hard-coded in the system. It can only be forever inaccessible. Bitcoin converted into fiat, even Bitcoin sent to the wrong network, or lost Bitcoin keys, and so on do not mean the supply of Bitcoin has decreased.
It is totally understandable for some people to convert their Bitcoin to fiat in order to buy something. Bitcoin is not yet that widely acceptable as payment by businesses.
Technically, it hasn't dropped or vanished. However, realistically speaking as soon as Bitcoin becomes inaccessible, and there's a good enough reason for it to be considered permanently inaccessible i.e death without inheritance or losing of credentials, seed, and private key then realistically they aren't ever going to get recovered, unless quantum computers eventually break the encryption of Bitcoin addresses, then really those coins can be considered as lowering the supply. It is totally understandable for some people to convert their Bitcoin to fiat in order to buy something. Bitcoin is not yet that widely acceptable as payment by businesses.
Perhaps , if you're talking absolute facts, and want as much accuracy as possible, they are inaccessible, and haven't reduced the total amount in circulation, though I'm trying to put an emphasis on the realistic thought process, if they've been lost it's almost impossible at least with the present technology that they'll ever be realistically introduced back into circulation.
Probably needs to go back further and understand how marketplaces of intangible assets work lol. Though I guess the UIs of the likes of Coinbase are so good that it makes some people think that Coinbase(or maybe Satoshi lol) themselves are the ones buying and selling the coins.
Not to belittle you though, OP. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and you're a tad bit smarter now.
Not to belittle you though, OP. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and you're a tad bit smarter now.
I hope that the OP will learn something from all the answers he received - and that he will not be angry with anyone because we are surprised for a reason - 1 year on the forum is not a short time to understand at least some basics. I believe there are others who think like OP or something like that, and it's never too late to learn something new - and maybe pass that knowledge on to someone else.
Misunderstanding what Bitcoin really is, is a big obstacle to greater adaptation, and I don't just mean individuals like OPs - but politicians and powerful people who aren't as intelligent as they seem.
Bitcoin! Bitcoin!! Bitcoin!!! We’re enthusiasts and solely want to know the future of this technology. I believe Satoshi Nakamoto the founder original intention for creating Bitcoin is to develop a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This electronic cash system can be used for daily payment and cash circulation in general. It is believed that the total amount of bitcoin in circulation is 21 million bitcoin that exist.
Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
When you sell your bitcoin to buy fiat currency, cars or property so where does that Bitcoin go ? It just changed hands. It went from you to the person selling the things for bitcoin. So the Bitcoin will not vanish if the bitcoin transcations are increased.
The only way to lose bitcoins if you lost your private keys. Those lost bitcoins are gone forever as they cannot be spend.
When I saw the title of the thread I thought it was going to be about Bitcoins that will be lost, or people who are going to do HODL in the very long term, but I didn't expect that basic confusion.
OP, it seems to me that you are not very clear on how Bitcoin works, you better review basic concepts. Maybe some videos of Andreas Antonopoulos would help you.
OP, it seems to me that you are not very clear on how Bitcoin works, you better review basic concepts. Maybe some videos of Andreas Antonopoulos would help you.
Bitcoin! Bitcoin!! Bitcoin!!! We’re enthusiasts and solely want to know the future of this technology. I believe Satoshi Nakamoto the founder original intention for creating Bitcoin is to develop a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This electronic cash system can be used for daily payment and cash circulation in general. It is believed that the total amount of bitcoin in circulation is 21 million bitcoin that exist.
Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
When you are exchanging your bitcoin for physically cash or any kind of currency or service, you are giving it to a person or a company that is going to sell it to individuals, that means that bitcoin does not vanish or gets taken out from the network it is just have been moved from your own wallet to another ones', but there is an issue that has been the topic of many discussion that is the fact that more on more we are focusing on constantly trying to use bitcoin just to get to our fiat needs, thus we are just using bitcoin as an asset and a way to make profit, rather than actually use it as it was intended to be, and for the most part some people nowadays don't even look at bitcoin as a currency. Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
This action is only detrimental for bitcoin if there is nobody else to buy the coins Jack sold in the market.
This will never be the case because you always have to withdraw bitcoins using an exchange, which accept unlimited amounts of liquidity.
The value of the bitcoin in circulation will not decrease or fade away, even if the bitcoin is converted into a fiat currency and its consumption for physical things will not vanish, it only goes from hand to hand or rather from wallet to wallet, it is true that we sell bitcoin to buy physical things such as a car or other things but on the other hand, there is someone who receives the bitcoin in his wallet as a price for the car, so the bitcoin will remain the same without missing anything from it, but only the owner and the wallet change.
There is no depreciation as to the supply of Bitcoin. A Bitcoin cannot vanish. It is hard-coded in the system. It can only be forever inaccessible. Bitcoin converted into fiat, even Bitcoin sent to the wrong network, or lost Bitcoin keys, and so on do not mean the supply of Bitcoin has decreased.
It is totally understandable for some people to convert their Bitcoin to fiat in order to buy something. Bitcoin is not yet that widely acceptable as payment by businesses.
It is totally understandable for some people to convert their Bitcoin to fiat in order to buy something. Bitcoin is not yet that widely acceptable as payment by businesses.
Do not be too hysterical. Bitcoin is there to stay and even if you see thousands to millions of owners start selling their bitcoin, there will be people that are always waiting for the bottom to catch those bitcoins. It's a market that there's always the takers and the sellers. Also, there have been a huge number of lost bitcoins forever and they have a value that's contributing to the market cap that cannot be removed anymore. As you've said bitcoin should be used for payment as the real intent of satoshi and if somebody sold his bitcoin to buy for something, that's on him and it's about profit-taking.
Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
This action is only detrimental for bitcoin if there is nobody else to buy the coins Jack sold in the market. Otherwise, it's positive not only for bitcoin, but also for every parts involved in the negotitation, because all of them are accomplishing with their personal goals (Jack got money to purchase his car, another person bought the bitcoins he was looking for from Jack and the currency's price was maintained). These negotiations are like the blood circulating in our bodies, transporting oxygen to the cells of our organisms. Without blood there isn't life and without negotiations there isn't crypto market. 
Bitcoin! Bitcoin!! Bitcoin!!! We’re enthusiasts and solely want to know the future of this technology. I believe Satoshi Nakamoto the founder original intention for creating Bitcoin is to develop a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This electronic cash system can be used for daily payment and cash circulation in general. It is believed that the total amount of bitcoin in circulation is 21 million bitcoin that exist.
Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
It is odd that you believe that this is the way bitcoin works, after all if that was the case and the moment you convert your bitcoin to fiat and your bitcoin was burned then the person giving you their fiat would not receive anything in exchange for it, as such it is obvious that no currency can work like that over the short or long term.Many capitalized on the worth of bitcoin and use it as a store of value. they end up trading their bitcoin, converting it to physical currencies (Fiat) to solve material problems like buying properties. If this action continue like this and people keep selling their bitcoin for material possessions. Wont the amount of bitcoin in circulation depreciate or even vanish? Because bitcoin is been converted to fiat currency and consumed for material things.
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
Bitcoin is just like any currency in that regard, if you want a product then you need to pay with the necessary amount of money needed to pay such product, then a trade takes place in which the possession of the item and the bitcoin exchange hands and now you got the item you wanted and the one that sold you the item now has your bitcoin, this works in the exact the same way any other form of money has ever worked.
Maybe you should learn more about bitcoin, how crypto works or even how transferring money works? The idea of Bitcoin as a mean of P2P payment was change over time, just the same as gold on its earlier days of humanity and now become a store of value.
One of the most common things on which you would really be having in mind when you are still a noob on this market which it isnt surprising that these kind of question arise but if he do knows on how this market or bitcoin works then for sure he would definitely be taking back these kind of question.On answering out on OP queries then its true that whenever you do sell off your coins it doesnt mean that it is totally been burned.
There's no such thing about vanishing unless in to those coins which are locked or doesnt have an access of its true owners.
selling all the assets we have doesn't mean it burns coins so even if we don't have assets in our portfolio, many other people still have them and that's not a problem and bitcoins don't disappear.
maybe bitcoins can disappear when you forget the password in the portfolio you have and in it there are lots of bitcoins then it's certain to be lost and dangerous for you
maybe bitcoins can disappear when you forget the password in the portfolio you have and in it there are lots of bitcoins then it's certain to be lost and dangerous for you
Jack just sold the bitcoin in his wallet to buy 2020 GLK Mercedes Benz, leaving the wallet empty. Is this action not detrimental to bitcoin?
No. It's no different to when you buy ice cream or a Mercedes Benz with fiat. It goes to someone else who will use that currency for something else. Therefore, it continues to circulate around, the very definition of a currency. Though, you didn't really touch upon it specifically, there is actually a way Bitcoin could "vanish" as you put it. As the generations pass, the amount of people dying with Bitcoin will increase, and therefore the amount of Bitcoin in circulation will decrease. Now, we can't accurately measure when this happens, but we do know regardless that this is happening at a very slow rate, and shouldn't be a problem within yours, and my lifetime.
Maybe you should learn more about bitcoin, how crypto works or even how transferring money works? The idea of Bitcoin as a mean of P2P payment was change over time, just the same as gold on its earlier days of humanity and now become a store of value.
Jump to: