WHAT HAPPENS TO BITCOIN AFTER ALL 21 MILLION ARE MINED? from Asic Marketplace's blog

Ever since its launch, Bitcoin—the original cryptocurrency—has drawn the interest of both supporters and critics. However, the main characteristic that distinguishes Bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies is its limited supply. There is a limit of 21 million Bitcoins that will ever be in circulation.

An interesting question is brought up as the supply gets closer to this cap and mining keeps going on: What happens to Bitcoin once all 21 million of it are mined? In this blog post, we will explore the possible outcomes and aftermath of this milestone

An Overview of Bitcoin Mining

The process of creating new Bitcoins and adding transactions to the blockchain—a public ledger—is called Bitcoin mining. It is essential to the functioning of the Bitcoin network as well as to keep the security of the Bitcoin network. New bitcoins are created via mining, which also verifies fresh transactions against the network that holds Bitcoin.
On the Bitcoin network, transactions are computationally validated before being added to the blockchain ledger. To confirm that transaction blocks generated on the decentralized platform are correct, solving intricate cryptographic hash puzzles is a requirement.

After receiving a set of transaction data, miners apply a cryptographic algorithm to produce a unique hash. The hash detects manipulation when any detail is altered. Every block contains the hash of the previous block, so changes are easily visible.