How does the issuance of new bitcoin change over time?
Correct answer
Answer C: Issuance falls in stages through halvings until it reaches zero.
Quick explanation
Every 210,000 blocks, the block subsidy is halved until it reaches 0 BTC. The theoretical maximum under the subsidy schedule is 20,999,999.9769 BTC—effectively 21 million. The amount actually issued and the amount available may be lower.
Detailed explanation
Bitcoin's issuance schedule starts with a relatively high block subsidy and reduces it in defined stages. In the first phase, up to 50 BTC per valid block was allowed. Every 210,000 blocks, the amount halves: first to 25 BTC, then to 12.5 BTC, and so on.
The schedule is not tied to calendar years, market prices, user numbers or individual miners' decisions. Block height and the consensus rules checked by full nodes are decisive. This allows the maximum permitted subsidy to be determined for any future block height.
Issuance does not stop suddenly with a large amount remaining. It gets progressively smaller over many halving periods. Since Bitcoin's base layer can issue only whole satoshis, the subsidy eventually falls to zero. Miners can then still receive transaction fees but no longer claim a new block subsidy. The issuance schedule thus describes a gradual slowdown in new issuance until it ends.
Example or everyday application
A staircase has steps that become half as high each time: 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 and so on. The steps get smaller without renegotiating the plan.
Key takeaway
Bitcoin's new issuance falls to zero under a fixed block schedule.
What the sources support
The Bundesbank shows that money quantities can change in banking systems. Bitcoin sources instead document a block subsidy that declines stepwise to zero. The bridge compares a credit-driven issuance path with one programmed in advance.