Bitcoin Supply Cap Debate Reignites Over Permanent Issuance Proposal

Bitcoin's fixed supply cap of 21 million coins is once again under scrutiny after Peter Todd proposed a permanent, small issuance of new coins to pay miners beyond 2140 when block rewards end. Todd argues that this 'tail emission' would stabilize the supply by offsetting lost coins and prevent security risks from fluctuating transaction fees.

However, Adam Back counters that this proposal is a misleading narrative aimed at uninformed users, comparing it to the failed 2026 BIP-110 soft fork. According to Back, any change to the supply cap would require a hard fork and unanimous agreement, making it unlikely in the near future.