Only 21 Million Bitcoin: Extreme FOMO is Coming
There are only 21 million bitcoin that will ever exist. That is something that is often said amongst bitcoiners and people in the cryptocurrency markets. But, perhaps few actually look into this further, and actually know how serious of a statement this is. Because, once you truly understand it; that is when you will feel a FOMO rush unlike anything that you have ever experienced before. One thing is for certain; we all don't own enough bitcoin.
Unlike fiat currency like the Dollar or Yen, bitcoin has a max supply of 21 million coins; and after that there will never be another new bitcoin created or minted. Because of this, bitcoin is considered to be a great future tool against fiat inflation. A currency that would actually reward everyday people for working and saving in bitcoin, rather than slowly having their savings wiped away by inflation like we see today. The idea is that all you would need to do to get ahead financially is go to work and just save the money you have leftover. A formula that has become nearly impossible in the fiat world. Where investing and owning assets is the only way to get ahead.
The way bitcoin is recently gaining momentum and the world macro or geopolitical situation is also rapidly changing. It isn't so outlandish of an idea that bitcoin could at some point become the world reserve currency, and oust the dollar from that position. That is the point when normal people who have either been ignoring bitcoin, a naysayer of it, or just ignorant to it will have to convert their savings into bitcoin. Or risk falling even further behind or losing everything. The moment that this happens, there will be a stampede rush towards bitcoin, and it won't be a pleasant one for many people. In fact, there'll be a lot of pain for those who are the last to get into bitcoin. The world could quickly transform into a world of have's, and have nots in regards to bitcoin.
Now, let's go back to the max supply of bitcoin; 21 million. There are nearly 60 million people in the world who are millionaires. Meaning that even if each millionaire in the world wanted to buy or own a full bitcoin, it would be impossible. Think about it like this. Everyone is used to present times, where you can get or buy anything you want. Even if that new iPhone model is popular and quickly sells out or is out of stock, you can still place an order and will receive it once it comes back in stock. That is not the case with bitcoin. If people aren't wanting to sell, there will not be any bitcoin on the market. As mentioned before, the minting of new coins is capped and cannot be changed. If you want bitcoin, your only option would be to pay more for it. But if bitcoin would become the world reserve asset, what would you be able to give or pay with to receive bitcoin? It's most likely no one would want to exchange their valuable bitcoin for a fiat currency that has become worthless, or is no use to them. Likely, the only method would be by selling other assets like real estate, products or earning it by working a job. You wouldn't buy a house with monopoly money. There is a possibility in the future that you may not be able to buy bitcoin with fiat.
Let's say bitcoin does become the world reserve currency. At a max coin supply of 21 million; split up and distributed evenly to each person in the world. That would give each person around 0.003 Bitcoin. Approximately $123 worth of bitcoin in today's price. But here is where things really begin to get interesting. It is often agreed that the real max circulating supply of bitcoin will be between 15-17 million coins. And that 4-6 million bitcoins have been lost forever. Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, his coins have never been touched or transferred and are widely considered to be lost or had the keys to his wallet burned. And then there are the millions of coins lost due to lost keys and passwords, throwing away computers and also just forgetting about them. During the early days of bitcoin, the coins had no value, and became an afterthought for many people who had obtained them. Taking these lost coins into consideration, this then brings that equal allotment of bitcoin for each person in the world down to about 0.002 BTC. Approximately $82 in today's value.
But it gets even more interest from there. There are large numbers of companies and individuals that are giant whales in the space. Owning thousands and even hundreds of thousands of bitcoin. Forever lowering the amount of bitcoin that everyday people will be able to acquire. The company Microstrategy, owns over 120,000 BTC all by themselves, bitcoin that you and I will never be able to buy. Luna is also quickly purchasing billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to back their UST stablecoin. Again, taking bitcoin off the market that you and I will never be able to buy. This is a story that repeating over and over, and this adoption will only speed up from here. And then you have the regular crypto enthusiasts like you and me who also probably have more than 0.002 BTC. Again lowering the amount bitcoin that regular people will be able to acquire.
Most of us probably have the dream to accumulate 1 full bitcoin, or even multiple full coins. Perhaps many of us feel that we got into bitcoin late. As hard as it may be to believe. IT is still early in the game. There will be a time when you hear your friends or co-workers proudly boasting about how they were able to acquire 500 SATS or maybe a few thousand SATS. (1 full bitcoin is made up of 100 million Satoshi's, nicknamed SATS) At that point we will be standing in the corner, keeping quiet about how we were able to accumulate several million SATS, a full bitcoin, or even multiple bitcoin. It wouldn't be safe for us to talk about it openly.
The FOMO will be real. Something most of us have never seen before. Even those buying the wrong kind of cryptocurrencies may feel pain. There is crypto, and then there is bitcoin. Always remember that bitcoin is trying to play a different game, and attacking a different monster than most other cryptocurrencies are attempting to. Make sure you accumulate accordingly.
How about you? Are you feeling the FOMO?
As always, thank you for reading!
I am personally not feeling FOMO at all. The limited supply thing to me is fraught with all kinds of issues that I do not think supports itself as a true, viable currency in the end. I mean, if all I can have is $82 what the hell's that worth? lol.
It is probably that I am missing some larger point here or some larger consideration. But it doesn't sound like something good to me on the basis. It sounds like a world where only the rich will ever have any power or monetary strength whereas the rest of us will struggle more than ever before with no real opportunity to get ahead such as we have now.