The well-known asset management company BlackRock released a 3-minute introduction video about Bitcoin (BTC) on 12/18, mentioning one of Bitcoin's main cores, which is the fixed supply of 21 million coins. However, a line in the video subtitles triggered widespread discussion in the Bitcoin community: 'It cannot be guaranteed that the supply of 21 million Bitcoin will not change.' This statement made Bitcoin supporters uneasy, raising suspicions that BlackRock may be paving the way for a future hard fork or modification of the Bitcoin protocol.
Concerns and responses from the Bitcoin community
After the video was released, Bitcoin supporters responded in succession, with some questioning whether BlackRock is trying to implement a 'hard fork' to increase Bitcoin's supply, while others found this 'very strange,' wondering if BlackRock intends to influence the Bitcoin protocol. As of now, Dune data shows that BlackRock has managed over 524,000 Bitcoin (BTC) through its own Bitcoin spot ETF, with a market value of approximately 53 billion dollars.
The supply cap is a core value of Bitcoin, which has sparked historic controversies.
The fixed supply of Bitcoin is one of the main core concepts of Bitcoin and a belief many Bitcoin enthusiasts adhere to.
Meaning of fixed supply: Bitcoin will not depreciate like fiat currencies due to unlimited money printing, and is regarded as an anti-inflation 'digital gold.'
Risk of changing the cap: Altering the supply may directly undermine Bitcoin's core value, leading to a collapse of trust.
This brings to mind the 'Bitcoin block size war' from 2015 to 2017, when two factions fiercely debated block capacity and protocol control, ultimately resulting in a victory for the small block faction, preserving Bitcoin's core characteristics. This debate also led to the birth of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which forked from the faction supporting larger blocks.
(Quick Read Vitalik | Reflection on the Bitcoin block size war: A story from two perspectives)
Is there a need to change the cap? Security budget issues emerge.
However, some Bitcoin supporters believe that an increase in supply may be necessary in the future to address the so-called 'security budget crisis.' Currently, for Bitcoin miners, income comes from two sources: 'Bitcoin generated per block' and 'transaction fees.'
However, due to Bitcoin's halving mechanism every four years, block rewards will decrease, thereby reducing miner income. Some developers are concerned that relying solely on transaction fees in the future may not cover miners' operating costs, which could impact Bitcoin's network security.
Bitcoin developer Nikita Zhavoronkov stated at the beginning of the year: "The possibility of significantly increasing transaction fee income is low; we must change the 1 MB block limit." However, Jameson Lopp, CTO of the Bitcoin security asset management company Casa, believes that concerns about the security budget can currently only be considered hypothetical issues, with no actual evidence to support this claim. Lopp suggests that we should continue to expand global Bitcoin adoption to alleviate this issue.
Does the BlackRock video conceal intentions?
However, whether that statement in the BlackRock video was merely a reminder or a deliberate implication is still uncertain. Nevertheless, this statement has prompted the Bitcoin community to reflect on how to uphold the core values of the Bitcoin protocol.
This article discusses the controversy surrounding BlackRock's Bitcoin explanatory video! Does it hint at changing the 21 million supply cap, potentially initiating a hard fork? First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.
