This text initially appeared in Bitcoin Journal’s “Moon Problem.” To get a duplicate, go to our retailer.
BLOCK HEIGHT: 4,830,001
(c. Yr 2100 in outdated terminology)
Greetings from the deep future! It’s block top 4,830,001, and we now have simply had an interplanetary twenty third halving occasion. It’s the yr 2100, or as we now realize it, the yr 91 AB (After Bitcoin). Fortunately for all of you, time journey has been found, and I can share the excellent news with all of you! The primary half of the twenty first century was beset by monetary crises, battle, poverty, inequality, environmental destruction and a COVID-19 pandemic, which induced worldwide rolling lockdowns for over a decade, till the collapse of the worldwide fiat economic system necessitated a transfer away from “lockdownism,” profligate spending and inflation, and a return to financial and financial, and therefore, environmental, sustainability. To start out, I’ll provide you with a decade-by-decade have a look at how we arrived at our halving occasion.
Whereas the world’s main economies have been busy destroying themselves within the 2020s, good cash began migrating to Bitcoin, which created great alternatives for Bitcoin miners, resulting in extra miners getting into the market, growing competitors, and importantly, dramatically growing innovation. By the tip of 2029, each semi-industrial Bitcoin miner on the earth was utilizing low-energy cooling applied sciences, with only one 40-foot container stuffed with immersed and overclocked mining rigs capable of present 5 megawatts (roughly one-third of an exahash) of moveable, profit-generating electrical load, anyplace on the planet. By the tip of the 2030s, all the world’s flared fuel was piped into Bitcoin containers, and clients have been discovered for all the world’s curtailed vitality. Inflation was going at round 20% a yr for the reason that time you’re studying this, so the $5.65 Huge Mac you ate in 2021 would set you again about $300 in 2039. Fortunately for you, bitcoin was price $5,000,000, and fiat dying was solely a couple of decade away at this level. Sadly for billions of individuals on Earth, nevertheless, wage inflation was solely 2%, and lots of lots of of thousands and thousands of individuals died resulting from famine and scarcityinduced battle and social collapse in impoverished places ready for the fiat system to break down below its personal weight in 2050. Anybody who saved some sats throughout the 2020s and 2030s have been themselves saved when financial judgment day arrived.
Additional, the 2030s and 2040s noticed the Bitcoin mining trade being the go-to purchaser of first resort to show distant nuclear fusion, photo voltaic, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal tasks. Whereas fusion had famously been “30 years away” for a century at that time, due to Bitcoin, fusion was lastly confirmed by 2049. Due to Bitcoin, a sustainable vitality revolution passed off, and humanity lastly succeeded the place worldwide governments and businesses just like the United Nations (UN) and World Financial Discussion board (WEF) failed persistently on their targets for a number of generations. The tip of the 2040s was marked by mega-mergers between the world’s largest publicly listed vitality corporations, semiconductor design and manufacturing corporations, and Bitcoin mining, shopper product and repair corporations.
In 2050, these quadrillion-dollar mega entities may design and construct their very own ASICs, mass-manufacture them, mine at massive scale with vitality they produced, and in addition supply clients the total suite of Bitcoin {hardware}, software program and monetary providers. There have been round 10 of those worldwide megacorps that served about 80% of the market, with a booming open-source ecosystem of 1000’s of personal, free, decentralized choices serving the opposite 20% of the market. Competitors within the Bitcoin mining area at this level was summed up as completely cut-throat with revenue margins approaching zero, the place the one approach to stay alive was by competing on both price or innovation.
With the value of bitcoin in 2050 being round $10,000,000, and now solely rising at round 3% every year resulting from its maturity and market saturation, foolish novelties like bodily metals have been utterly demonetized. That $300 Huge Mac you ate in 2039 was a cool $1,000 now, too. Whereas gold was performing strongly at $10,000 per ounce in 2040, about 10 Huge Macs, good buyers have been rising impatient nonetheless holding gold over bitcoin after lacking 1,000,000% upside over the previous 30 years. Individuals began turning into offended at being supplied jewellery as an alternative of satoshis.
In consequence, by 2050, gold, and all different “valuable” metals have been promoting by the tonne slightly than the gram or ounce, which allowed humanity to benefit from the miracle of gold, silver, platinum and others as constructing and industrial supplies. Beforehand prohibitively pricey applied sciences and improvements have been unlocked resulting from plummeting materials prices. On account of gold’s particular sturdiness and anti-radiation properties, we may lastly look to area. Whereas most individuals have been accustomed to a ten Gbit/s web connection in 2050, 1 Mbit/s satellite tv for pc web was free and ubiquitous around the globe by then.
Whereas the Bitcoin blockchain was now about 3 terabytes in dimension, the largely Bitcoin-driven revolution in semiconductor manufacturing meant that you would be up and operating with your individual synced up Bitcoin full node for the price of a Huge Mac. The Bitcoin-driven vitality revolution additionally meant that “at-home” fusion reactors have been now solely 30 years away from proving out right now. The EU, U.S. and China have collapsed, alongside the UN, and there are actually 2,000 impartial states, that compete for the world’s finest expertise by way of accountable coverage. Battle isn’t doable below a finite financial system, and world peace has been achieved.
“We select to go to the moon on this decade and do the opposite issues, not as a result of they’re simple, however as a result of they’re arduous.” 100 years on from JFK’s well-known speech and a number of other of the world’s free impartial states have established bases on the moon. As a result of sheer quantity of satellites and relays in area, moon miners weren’t at a big drawback, and all vitality not devoted to terraforming the moon goes towards Bitcoin mining. On Earth, 25% of the world’s vitality is devoted to mining bitcoin, and as a result of largely Bitcoin-driven intense competitors within the vitality markets, common individuals successfully had entry to very low-cost, if not free, vitality. By the tip of the 2070s, nobody on planet Earth was with out vitality or electrical energy, and it’s all low cost and clear, thanks primarily to Bitcoin. The vitality revolution enabled unprecedented alternatives for particular person sovereignty and self-sufficiency, and main developments in 3D printing and supplies over the previous half a century has made the “Star Trek replicator” dream one step nearer to actuality. Who ended up “constructing the roads”? Due to the Bitcoin financial stack, micro and nano funds enabled a highway community the place customers pays competing personal highway operators for highway use, even in “per meter traveled” increments, and even permit funds between autos themselves. This will likely sound unusual however paying just a few further sats for your entire providers nonetheless finally ends up being far, far cheaper than struggling by way of inflation and paying earnings, gross sales and land taxes.
The 2080s and 2090s noticed a fairer world wealth distribution than that offered by Credit score Suisse in its “2021 World Wealth Report.” Again then, the highest 1.1% of the inhabitants held 45.8% of world wealth, with the subsequent 11.1% holding one other 39.1%, and the underside 55% solely proudly owning 1.3%. Now, the highest 1% solely maintain 20% of the wealth, with the underside 80% holding a far more healthy 20%. Though this isn’t essentially “equal,” that is way more consistent with pure energy legal guidelines (i.e., “the 80-20 rule”). Certainly, with the ending of the fiat delusion of “finite sources, infinite cash” and the market- and society-distorting apply of mass cash printing, humanity was capable of return to a extra pure path. Within the outdated fiat days, the highest 1% may gamble, get bailouts from the federal government if the wager went bitter, and off to the on line casino they went once more. Now, the individuals who promote or spend their bitcoin know simply how tough they’re to earn again. As soon as it’s spent, it’s spent ceaselessly. No reprints. Importantly, with terraforming of the moon nicely underway, and Mars additionally turning into a vacationer vacation spot, the world’s individuals have been culturally able to usher in a brand new century of reaching for the celebs.
And at last we arrive to now, the yr 2100. There are nonetheless 10 megacorps that present 80% of the mining hash charge, services, however not one of the 10 megacorps that have been round in 2050 are nonetheless in enterprise. Competitors is so fierce that it’s unlikely that the present crop of Bitcoin megacorps will survive this century. The world’s rich are actually mining at house on their very own fusion mini-reactors, and at-home mining is usually accountable for 20% of the hash charge. A 3rd of the world’s vitality is devoted to mining, and the world’s grid is emissions free. Of be aware is that humanity now makes use of a full 50 occasions extra vitality than we did a century in the past — all clear. Though individuals typically know what Bitcoin is, there are actually so many layers and abstractions, bitcoin is simply “cash” to Earth- and moon-bound individuals. Nearly no people use baselayer Bitcoin to transact, and only a few even use Layer 2 both, with most individuals utilizing Layer 3 or above for day-to-day actions. Sadly although, the velocity of sunshine is simply too gradual, and Bitcoin’s 10-minute block time is simply too quick, for bitcoin to be an efficient cash throughout the complete universe. The Martians have bootstrapped their very own native proof-of-work-based financial system, and a wholesome UnEx (common alternate) Market is forming. Though we nonetheless have one other 40 years or so earlier than the mining reward ends, the “not sufficient charge income” threat didn’t materialize. Base-layer blocks are full, 24/7, slightly below one million transactions per day, with every of those million transactions themselves settling lots of of 1000’s of different transactions per day on larger layers. Whereas a base-layer transaction prices the equal of $1,000 in 2021 cash, the overall worth settled per transaction is nearer to $10 million, making the efficient charge charge 0.01%.
Some parting recommendation from deep into the longer term: Take excellent care of your keys and maintain onto them for expensive life. Now it is time for me to move again to the longer term. I’ve a lunch date with my grandfather, The Friar himself, at a fighting-fit 114 years outdated, who’s recent out of hospital with a brand new set of 3D-printed stem-cell lungs. He is on his second 3D-printed coronary heart, and third 3D-printed liver — certainly, HODLing was not simple.
