8 billion people on Earth and only 21 million Bitcoins. What does the future look like?
By Marius Morra, CEO and Co-founder of TOKERO Crypto Exchange
Bitcoin is a digital currency that operates independently of a central bank or government. It was created in 2009 by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Unlike traditional currencies, which require oversight by a central authority, Bitcoin is decentralized and operates on a peer-to-peer blockchain network. Bitcoin is based on open-source software that uses strong cryptography to create secure, permanent and hard-to-manipulate financial transactions.
Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin has a limited maximum supply of 21 million coins. This means that the total number of Bitcoins in circulation will always be at most 21 million. A feature of the Bitcoin protocol enforces this maximum supply and is called “halving,” which cuts the reward for Bitcoin miners in half every 210,000 blocks. This reduces the rate of production of new coins and the total supply of Bitcoin. Unlike traditional currencies, which are subject to inflation, Bitcoin has a predictable and limited supply, which makes it attractive to investors as a way to store value.
Global population and wealth distribution
The world population is estimated to be 7.6 billion people in 2021 and is growing at a rate of 1.13% every year. In 2020, the population growth rate was 1.06%.
Most of the global population growth can be attributed to a small number of countries in Asia and Africa, such as India, Nigeria and Pakistan, where the population is growing faster than in other countries. The populations of these countries will likely continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
The global population growth rate is expected to decline in the coming decades as the fertility rate begins to decline in many countries with high population growth.
Income inequality and wealth distribution
Income inequality is a measure of economic disparities between people and groups of people in a society. It is usually measured by the Gini coefficient, which ranks income by measuring the level of inequality in a country. In general, if the Gini coefficient increases, it suggests greater income inequality in a country.
The World Inequality Database (WID) estimates the global distribution of wealth and finds that most wealth is currently held by high earners in the richest countries. This has created wealth inequality between countries and even greater wealth inequality within countries with a similar level of economic development.
Correlation between Bitcoin holdings and wealth distribution
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that is not controlled by any central authority. It has grown in popularity and value in recent years and has become an attractive asset for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.
The correlation between Bitcoin ownership and wealth distribution remains unclear. Although some people may invest in Bitcoin to diversify their portfolios and thereby increase their wealth, this does not necessarily guarantee a more equitable distribution of wealth. In fact, Bitcoin ownership is heavily skewed in favor of high-income families who can afford the risk or costs associated with Bitcoin transactions. Thus, owning Bitcoin probably does not have a significant impact on the global distribution of wealth.
Bitcoin adoption around the world
Bitcoin adoption is growing rapidly in many countries around the world. According to data from bech32.org, more than 80 countries around the world are actively using Bitcoin, with the highest levels recorded in North America (United States and Canada), Europe (Spain and Switzerland), Asia (China and Singapore), and Latin America (Venezuela and Colombia). In Europe, for example, Switzerland and the Netherlands are at the forefront of Bitcoin adoption, with the number of transactions in the country reaching a peak in 2020. In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and South Korea are among the most popular countries when it comes to adoption Bitcoin.
8 billion people on Earth and only 21 million Bitcoins. What does the future look like?
(to be continued in the next issue)
