Emission

Understanding Emissions

Emission refers to the rate at which new cryptocurrencies are introduced into circulation.

For instance, let’s consider Bitcoin. Every 10 minutes, a new block is added to the Bitcoin blockchain. When Bitcoin was initially launched, miners received a reward of 50 BTC for validating each block. This implies that the emission rate of BTC was around 7,200 per day.

Over time, several halving events have taken place, leading to a significant reduction in the number of new Bitcoins entering the ecosystem. As of May 2020, the emission rate is now only 6.25 BTC.

It’s worth noting that emissions are not guaranteed to continue indefinitely. In the case of Bitcoin, the maximum supply is capped at 21 million, and there is a predetermined schedule for its release. The final BTC will be mined in 2140.

Unlike Bitcoin, some cryptocurrencies do not have a fixed emission rate. This means that new units can be created as required. A prime example of this is the Tether stablecoin, which is generated whenever someone deposits $1 as a reserve.