Many people have a fundamental misunderstanding about the total supply cap of Bitcoin. Although the code sets the number at 21 million, it is truly impossible to mine them all in this lifetime—this is not a joke, but a mathematical trap embedded by Satoshi Nakamoto during the design.

Let's look at the logic behind the mining rewards. They are halved every four years: from 50 BTC → 25 BTC → 12.5 BTC → 6.25 BTC → 3.125 BTC… According to the mathematical concept of an infinite geometric series, the total will always approach 21 million but never actually reach it. Even if divided into the smallest unit, "satoshi," this fate cannot be changed.

Will miners go on strike because the rewards are too small? Quite the opposite. By 2025, some miners can still cash out with a block reward of 3.125 BTC, worth about 350,000 USD. Currently, the entire network is packed with 5 million mining rigs; those unprofitable have already shut down. The key point is that as long as Bitcoin is still in use, transaction fees will continuously flow to miners, which is enough to sustain the economics of mining.

There is an even more ruthless layer of design: over the years, thousands of Bitcoins have been permanently lost due to lost private keys, effectively reducing the circulating supply invisibly. When the newly issued rewards become negligible around 2140, the gap to 21 million will still be significant.

Satoshi's combination of "total supply lock and infinite mining" is indeed brilliantly clever. Every time the halving cycle approaches, the market speculates on Bitcoin's future—will the price skyrocket in response, or are there other hidden factors at play? Perhaps the answer can only be found in the next halving cycle.