StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has proposed a radical idea: abandoning Bitcoin's fixed supply limit of 21 million coins. In his view, this model loses its meaning due to the irreversible loss of private keys. Over time, Ben-Sasson argues, all keys will be lost, leading to a gradual disappearance of part of the supply from circulation. As evidence, he cites Ledger's estimate that the volume of irretrievably lost bitcoins already amounts to about 4 million.
Instead of an absolute limit, the StarkWare head proposes setting an annual issuance rate of 4%. According to his logic, such inflation roughly corresponds to the growth rate of the Earth's population and would preserve the asset's scarcity in the long term, even with constant key loss. The idea is that the upper bound would not be a fixed number, but a predetermined annual percentage.
Community Reaction: A Fundamental Split
The initiative has sparked heated debate. Bitcoin supporters have reminded that the 21 million limit is not just a technical parameter, but a cornerstone of the "digital gold" concept. One user, Angel Akiyta, called the proposal a "terrible idea," warning that changing the protocol in such a fundamental area would open the door to further modifications that destroy the very essence of Bitcoin.
Other participants in the discussion pointed out that the asset is divisible into 2.1 quadrillion satoshis, so the argument "there aren't enough coins for everyone" is untenable. However, Ben-Sasson countered that even this number of units would shrink due to key loss. Critics also noted that abandoning the fixed supply would make Bitcoin indistinguishable from many other cryptocurrencies, stripping it of its unique property.
Compromise from Zcash Founder
Zcash founder Bryce "Zooko" Wilcox proposed an alternative — the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), which is being discussed in the anonymous coin's ecosystem. This mechanism maintains the hard limit of 21 million ZEC but allows users to voluntarily burn coins. An equivalent amount is then gradually returned to circulation through miner rewards over four years. According to the authors' design, this supports network security without increasing the maximum supply.
My expertise: Ben-Sasson's idea is certainly provocative, but it highlights a real problem — the irreversible loss of coins. However, introducing 4% inflation is not a technical but an ideological change that could undermine trust in Bitcoin as an asset with a predictable and immutable monetary policy. The Zcash compromise looks more elegant, but its applicability to Bitcoin remains highly questionable.