Please describe the feature you’d like to see added.
Title: Proposal for Bitcoin Expiration Mechanism to Improve Scalability and Maintain Mining Incentives
Summary: This proposal suggests implementing an expiration mechanism for unmoved Bitcoin to address long-term scalability, lost coins, and mining incentives. Under this model, Bitcoin that has remained unspent for a fixed period (e.g., 16 years) would be reabsorbed into the mining pool as block rewards, ensuring the blockchain remains sustainable while preserving the total supply cap of 21 million BTC.
Problem Statement: Bitcoin faces two major long-term challenges:
- Blockchain Growth: The ledger size grows indefinitely, making it increasingly difficult for full nodes to operate efficiently.
- Lost and Dormant Bitcoin: A significant portion of Bitcoin is permanently lost due to forgotten keys, deaths, or lost hardware, reducing the functional supply.
- Diminishing Mining Rewards: As block rewards decrease over time, Bitcoin miners may lack sufficient incentive to secure the network.
Proposed Solution:
- Expiration Rule: Any Bitcoin UTXO that has remained unspent for a fixed period (e.g., 16 years) would be considered “expired.”
- Recycling Mechanism: Expired Bitcoin would be reabsorbed and redistributed as future block rewards.
- Ledger Pruning: Expired transactions would allow older blocks to be pruned, keeping the blockchain size stable.
- User Notification: Wallet software would track UTXO expiration dates and notify users well in advance, ensuring they can move their funds if desired.
Benefits:
- Fixed Blockchain Size: Prevents excessive growth, making it feasible for more users to run full nodes.
- Preserves 21M BTC Cap: The total Bitcoin supply remains unchanged, avoiding inflationary effects.
- Revives Lost BTC: Reintroduces inactive Bitcoin back into circulation, improving liquidity.
- Sustains Mining Rewards: Provides continuous incentives for miners long after the last Bitcoin is mined.
- Encourages Active Use: Prevents excessive hoarding and ensures BTC remains a functional currency.
Potential Challenges & Considerations:
- User Backlash: Some may resist the idea of their Bitcoin expiring, even with ample warnings.
- Implementation Complexity: Requires modifications to Bitcoin Core and consensus agreement.
- Security Risks: Could this mechanism be exploited? Proper safeguards must be in place.
- Governance: Defining the ideal expiration period (e.g., 16 years) requires broad consensus.
Next Steps:
- Community Feedback: Open discussion with developers and users.
- Technical Specification: Draft a detailed BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal).
- Testnet Implementation: Create a fork or soft fork to test feasibility.
- Consensus Building: Work toward adoption by miners and node operators.
This proposal aims to enhance Bitcoin’s long-term viability while maintaining its core principles. Feedback and discussion are welcome to refine and improve the idea further.
Is your feature related to a problem, if so please describe it.
This idea solves real long-term issues, especially around storage growth and lost coins, without violating Bitcoin’s hard cap of 21M. It’s less extreme than a reset or a fork—just an evolution of the rules over time.
Describe the solution you’d like
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Describe any alternatives you’ve considered
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Please leave any additional context
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