When all 21 million Bitcoins are mined (around 2140), the creation of new coins stops, and miners will rely solely on transaction fees for income, securing the network through Proof-of-Work. This transition shifts Bitcoin's incentive structure from new coin issuance to network utility, potentially increasing transaction fees as demand grows, reinforcing scarcity, and potentially driving its use as a store of value, similar to digital gold, with Layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network handling daily transactions.
When all bitcoin have been mined, miner revenue will depend entirely on transaction fees. The price and purchasing power of bitcoin will adjust to the lack of new supply. The scarcity of Bitcoin will make it more attractive to investors and users.
Once the last bitcoin is mined, block rewards disappear. Miners will then rely entirely on transaction fees to earn revenue. These fees are paid by users whenever they send Bitcoin, and they'll need to be high enough to keep miners incentivized to secure the network.
In a groundbreaking transaction on May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made history by purchasing two Papa John's pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin, marking the first real-world commercial use of the cryptocurrency. At the time, the Bitcoin were worth a mere $41.
There are approximately 1.5 million bitcoins left to be mined (at the time of writing) out of the total capped supply of 21 million. The last bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140. This estimate is based on the Bitcoin protocol's design, which includes a controlled issuance schedule.
In July 2022, Tesla quietly dumped roughly 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, worth about $936 million, during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty and market stress.
If you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin five years ago (around mid-2020), your investment would have grown significantly, potentially turning into anywhere from roughly $9,000 to over $14,000 by late 2024/early 2025, representing huge returns, though it wouldn't have been a smooth ride due to Bitcoin's volatility and price swings. The exact value depends on the specific date you invested, as Bitcoin's price fluctuates, but holding it through its major bull runs and pullbacks would have yielded substantial profits.
15 years ago, a software developer paid for two pizzas with 10,000 bitcoin. Those pies would be worth $1.1 billion today.
Remember the guy who made the first real-world bitcoin transaction in 2010? He paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. The coins were worth about $40 then, and more than $1.24 billion when Bitcoin's price went over $124,000 for the first time in August 2025.
On May 22, 2010, the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin occurred when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John's pizzas for ₿10,000, in what would later be celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day".
This fee is paid to cryptocurrency miners, which are the systems that process the transactions and secure the respective network. Coinbase incurs and pays these fees directly. Accordingly, Coinbase will charge a fee based on our estimate of the network transaction fees for a stand-alone wallet-to-wallet send.
Bitcoin Can Go Lower, But Probably Not to Zero
Options markets now assign roughly a 50 per cent chance that bitcoin ends 2025 below $90,000 (and just 30 per cent chance above $100,000). As one crypto strategist at Deribit put it, current setups “justify downside fears” in the short term.
The growth of a $100 investment in Bitcoin
If you had invested $100 in Bitcoin 10 years ago, you would have about $20,000 today, as the leading cryptocurrency has grown by nearly 20,000% (as of Dec. 22). The S&P 500, on the other hand, delivered a total return of about 300% during the same period.
Key Takeaways
Blockchain data shows that there are just under 1 million wallet addresses that hold one full bitcoin. Many large holders, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, hold their bitcoin across multiple wallets, which puts the estimate for individual owners of at least one bitcoin closer to 800,000.
§ 981 – Civil forfeiture for financial crimes. Enables seizure of Bitcoin tied to money laundering, wire fraud, securities fraud, ransomware payments, and unlicensed money transmitting businesses. Allows forfeiture even when individual perpetrators remain unidentified.
British bank Standard Chartered projects that Bitcoin's price will reach $500,000 in 2030. Multiple prominent figures, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Block CEO Jack Dorsey, have expressed their belief that it could reach $1 million or more.
If you had purchased $20 in Bitcoin in 2009, you would have bought around 20,000 Bitcoins. Based on today's value, those 20,000 Bitcoin would be valued at nearly $2 Billion.
Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made history in May 2010 by conducting Bitcoin's first real-world transaction, trading 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas worth $30. Today, those bitcoins are valued at $990 million, making the event a legendary milestone in cryptocurrency history.
Bitcoin's price finally broke through the US$1 mark in 2011, and moved as high as US$29.60 that year. However, in 2012 Bitcoin pulled back and remained relatively muted. Bitcoin's price saw its first significant growth in earnest in 2013, the year it broke through both US$100 and US$1,000.
On May 22nd 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two papa johns pizza to be delivered to his home. Papa John's wasn't interested, he got a private person to accept the order and do it. Even at the time it was a steal as he spent about $25 on the pizza and the BTC was worth about $41 at the time.
The new all-time high comes exactly 15 years after Laszlo Hanyecz, an early adopter and miner, made what is widely regarded as the first purchase of physical goods with Bitcoin. On that day in 2010, he paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas—valued at around $41 at the time.
It'd also be prudent for investors interested in crypto to buy and hold it for the long term, as they would with other financial assets, Johnson said. Morningstar suggests holding cryptocurrency for at least 10 years, Arnott wrote.
If you're holding crypto, there's no immediate gain or loss, so the crypto is not taxed. Tax is only incurred when you sell the asset, and you subsequently receive either cash or units of another cryptocurrency: At this point, you have “realized” the gains, and you have a taxable event.
“From a technical point of view, the $100,000 level represents an important and symbolic resistance, the breach of which could attract new capital, especially due to renewed confidence among long-term investors,” says Stefano Bargiacchi, analyst at Directa SIM.