Bitcoin 21M cap debate erupts after StarkWare CEO’s 4% proposal
The post Bitcoin 21M cap debate erupts after StarkWare CEO’s 4% proposal appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has revived debate over Bitcoin’s fixed supply after suggesting annual issuance. Summary Ben-Sasson argued lost private keys reduce usable Bitcoin supply, making fixed issuance worth reconsidering. Bitcoin supporters rejected the idea, saying the 21M cap remains central to BTC’s value. Zcash’s proposed burn-and-reissue model emerged as an alternative that keeps a fixed supply cap intact. In a Tuesday post on X, Ben-Sasson said Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap “doesn’t make sense” because users lose private keys over time. He argued that lost keys reduce the amount of usable Bitcoin and that, over a long enough period, more coins will become unreachable. Ben-Sasson proposed replacing the fixed cap with a hard issuance rule of up to 4% per year. He said the figure roughly matches global population growth, while still keeping Bitcoin scarce under a know