Can the BTC supply limit be changed? Operator: It can be changed with this trick, but it’s not the BTC of Satoshi Nakamoto.

BlackRock BTC video 'supply cap' statement sparks controversy

According to Cointelegraph, BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, released a 3-minute BTC explanatory video, in which a disclaimer caused a heated discussion in the cryptocurrency community. The disclaimer states, 'There is no guarantee that the supply limit of 21 million BTC will not be changed.'

BlackRock explains in the video that BTC has a fixed supply of 21 million coins. This hard-coded rule controls the supply and purchasing power, and helps to avoid potential problems of currency overissuance. However, the disclaimer gives other possibilities, causing a great stir in the crypto community.

Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, shared this video, which has attracted critics questioning whether the scarcity of BTC can really be changed.

Dashpay business development director Joel Valenzuela bluntly stated:

"When the supply cap increases, people will say it has always been part of the plan. In 2024, dare people still say BTC has not been hijacked?"

Image source: X BlackRock BTC video disclaimer states: There is no guarantee that the supply limit of 21 million BTC2 will not be changed.

Can the 21 million supply limit of BTC be changed?

BitVM, the developer of BTC virtual machine, said on Super Testnet that whether the BTC supply cap can be changed depends on how the community defines 'BTC'.

In theory, if you want to change the supply limit, you need consensus from multiple members of the BTC community, including node operators, core developers, miners, and investors. Typically, a proposal is first put forward by developers to spark community discussion and understand where the consensus lies, and then the rule change is implemented into the BTC core code.

This change will lead to a hard fork of BTC. The community needs to decide which new set of rules to adopt. If the majority of node operators and miners start supporting the new fork, it will be reflected in the increase of market share and computing power. They will operate on this 'new' BTC network.

Super Testnet pointed out that "setting an upper limit on currency inflation is the most prominent feature of BTC," and cited Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin whitepaper as saying:

"Once this feature is removed, what you have is no longer Bitcoin, just like asking how to turn BTC into PayPal."

A successful BTC hard fork cannot be achieved solely by BTC miners, as evidenced by the block size debate in 2016 and 2017.

History has proven that even with 95% of miners supporting a hard fork, such a change cannot be realized without consensus from the entire ecosystem. Even if it is really changed, it will not be the BTC originally designed by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Decentralized value of BTC is under attack.

The Bitcoin white paper was born during the 2008 financial crisis. Satoshi Nakamoto's original intention was to create an electronic payment system without intermediaries, not tied to any fiat currency or government. The setting of the supply limit was to resist inflation.

However, as the industry continues to develop, BTC is increasingly being defined as digital gold with value storage capabilities. With active involvement from major national governments and institutions, the level of decentralization is also being increasingly questioned.

Crypto City previously reported that to cope with the constantly changing regulatory environment and institutional and government involvement, BTC seems to need to make a compromise between ideals and reality.

If you want to change the core design of the supply limit, it will inevitably cause strong controversy in the community and affect the long-running reward mechanism model, and even reverse the mainstream narrative of the halving bull and bear cycle. But for now, the BTC ecosystem has not taken this step, but is moving towards expanding the application layer.

Further reading: The distribution of holdings has sparked discussion! Is BTC still the people's currency? Or has it become a complete capital game?

[Disclaimer] The market is risky, and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice. Users should consider whether any opinions, perspectives, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Invest at your own risk.

'Can the BTC supply cap be changed? Operator: It can be changed with this trick, but it's not Satoshi Nakamoto's BTC.' This article was first published in 'Crypto City'