In recent weeks, Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to hover just below the $100,000 mark, reigniting conversations about its long-term value, scarcity, and the immense computational power securing its network. As retail investors pause at the thought of six-figure prices, few stop to consider a deeper truth: the final Bitcoin will not be mined until around the year 2140, after a painstaking 35-year stretch of diminishing rewards.
This article explores the profound implications behind that last coin — not just in terms of scarcity, but also security, energy, and what it means for BTC’s long-term valuation.
The Final Bitcoin: A 35-Year Countdown
Bitcoin’s protocol is designed with mathematical precision. Every four years — or more accurately, every 210,000 blocks — the block reward miners receive is cut in half. This process, known as Bitcoin halving, ensures that new BTC issuance slows over time until it eventually reaches zero.
After the 2104 halving event, the remaining supply will be released gradually through increasingly smaller rewards:
- 298 BTC per block → then 149 → 74 → 37 → 18 → 9 → 4 → 2 → 1
Each of these stages lasts approximately four years. By the time we reach the final block reward of 1 satoshi (0.00000001 BTC), mining will effectively cease. The total amount of BTC produced during this final phase adds up to roughly 1.2432 BTC.
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That means: the last fraction of a Bitcoin will take about 35 years to fully mine, culminating in a hard stop around 2140. At that point, no new bitcoins will ever be created again.
This engineered scarcity is unlike anything seen in financial history — no gold rush, no fiat printing press, no central authority can override it. It’s written in code, enforced by consensus, and secured by energy.
Bitcoin vs. Supercomputers: A Staggering Scale of Power
To understand how secure this system truly is, consider the scale of computing power protecting the Bitcoin network today.
As of now, the global Bitcoin network operates at an estimated 800 exahashes per second (EH/s). That’s 800 quintillion (8 × 10²⁰) hash calculations every second — all dedicated to verifying transactions and securing the blockchain.
Compare that to the world’s most powerful supercomputer: El Capitan in the United States, clocking in at over 1.7 exaflops (EFLOPS/s) — capable of 1.7 quintillion floating-point operations per second.
But here's the key difference: hash rate and FLOPS are not directly equivalent.
According to research referenced in The Bitcoin Chronicles, general-purpose computing power (like that used in supercomputers) translates poorly into cryptographic hashing efficiency. Estimates suggest that 10,000 FLOPS ≈ 1 hash/s when performing SHA-256 computations — the algorithm Bitcoin uses.
That means El Capitan’s impressive performance equates to roughly 170 terahashes per second (TH/s) — or 0.00017 EH/s.
In contrast, the entire Bitcoin network runs at 800 EH/s — roughly equivalent to over 5 million El Capitan-level supercomputers working in unison.
To put it another way: if you tried to replicate Bitcoin’s current security using only the world’s fastest supercomputers, you’d need a data center larger than most cities.
Energy, Efficiency, and the Real Cost of Security
It’s not just about raw computation — it’s about energy.
Back in 2020, when Bitcoin’s network hash rate was around 100 EH/s, analysts estimated that using conventional supercomputers to achieve similar security would require 30,000 times more electricity than what Bitcoin miners actually consume.
Why such a massive difference?
Because Bitcoin mining hardware is purpose-built. Unlike general-purpose CPUs or GPUs in supercomputers, ASIC miners are optimized solely for SHA-256 hashing. They deliver vastly superior performance per watt.
Since 2020:
- The fastest supercomputer has improved from Japan’s Fugaku (442 PFLOPS) to El Capitan (>1.7 EFLOPS) — a ~3.8x increase.
- Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s total network hash rate has grown from 100 EH/s to 800 EH/s — an 8x leap.
Bitcoin’s specialized infrastructure isn’t just keeping pace with technological progress — it’s outpacing general computing advancements.
And so is its energy efficiency relative to computational output.
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The gap between generic computing and Bitcoin mining continues to widen — both in performance and energy economics.
Security Is Not Abstract — It’s Physical
Many people think of blockchain security as a software concept — cryptographic signatures, decentralized nodes, consensus rules.
But Bitcoin proves something deeper: true security is rooted in physics and economics.
The Bitcoin network spends vast amounts of electricity — real-world energy — to protect every single satoshi. This energy expenditure creates a real cost barrier for any potential attacker.
To overtake the network (i.e., perform a 51% attack), an adversary would need to assemble more than half of the global hash rate — meaning they’d need over 4 million El Capitan-class supercomputers, running nonstop, consuming unimaginable power, and spending billions in capital and operational costs.
There is no incentive strong enough — especially since the act itself would likely destroy BTC’s value, making the attack self-defeating.
Thus, Bitcoin’s security isn’t theoretical. It’s grounded in material reality: hardware, electricity, geography, and economic rationality.
No other digital asset comes close.
Is Bitcoin Overvalued at $100K?
Now let’s return to the original question:
Is Bitcoin expensive at $100,000?
Consider this:
- You’re not just buying a token.
- You’re gaining access to a global financial network secured by the largest accumulation of computational power in human history.
- A system that will spend 35 years and immense energy to produce its final coin.
- A monetary asset with a fixed supply of 21 million units, verifiable by anyone, immutable by design.
When viewed through this lens, $100,000 per BTC doesn’t seem so high — especially compared to assets like gold, real estate, or even tech stocks with infinite dilution potential.
Bitcoin may not yet be the world’s most valuable asset by market cap — but it is already the most secure digital property system ever built.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: When will the last Bitcoin be mined?
A: The final Bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140, following the last halving cycle after 2104.
Q: How many Bitcoins are left to mine?
A: As of now, over 19.7 million BTC have been mined. Less than 3 million remain, with diminishing rewards spread across decades.
Q: Can Bitcoin’s code be changed to mint more coins?
A: Technically yes, but practically no. Any attempt to increase supply would break consensus and likely result in rejection by miners, developers, and users — effectively killing trust in the system.
Q: Why does mining take so long after 2104?
A: After each halving, block rewards shrink slowly (from fractions of BTC down to 1 satoshi). This deliberate slowdown ensures smooth disinflation and long-term miner incentives via transaction fees.
Q: Does high hash rate guarantee security?
A: Yes. The higher the network hash rate, the more costly and impractical it becomes for any entity to launch an attack — making Bitcoin increasingly secure over time.
Q: Is mining sustainable as rewards decrease?
A: Long-term sustainability depends on rising transaction volume and fee revenue. Experts believe that by 2140, transaction fees alone will sufficiently incentivize miners.
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Bitcoin isn’t just money — it’s a monument to decentralized trust, engineered scarcity, and physical security. The journey toward the last bitcoin isn’t merely technical; it’s philosophical. And as we approach that final block decades from now, one thing will remain clear:
Each BTC represents not just value — but irreplaceable work.
Whether you’re investing today or simply observing from afar, remember: you’re witnessing history unfold — one hash at a time.