Re:Bitcoin's mining difficulty has increased by 41.9% over t...
by rinze on Monday December 21, 2015 @07:34PM
(#10774747)
If no more coins are mined (or the mining rate drops to almost negligible levels), is there still any incentive for people to keep the blockchain alive by computing power? Aside from keeping the whole system alive, I mean.
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Re:Bitcoin's mining difficulty has increased by 41.9% over t...
by rlpb on Monday December 21, 2015 @08:02PM
(#10774892)
When you request a transaction you also offer a fee. You get to set the fee. If miners don't like it they don't have to include your transaction, and if that happens your transaction will not get confirmed.
After no more coins are mined, miners will be relying entirely on transaction fees. At that point, competition will show us the real cost (and electricity used) for transactions.
Right now transaction fees are low(er) because miners can offset their costs against the coins that they mine as well.