On December 17, investment firm BlackRock released a short educational video about Bitcoin, which included a controversial disclaimer suggesting that the 21 million coin limit could be revised. The note stirred a heated reaction within the cryptocurrency community.
JUST IN: BlackRock releases 3 minute educational video explaining what #Bitcoin is. pic.twitter.com/EjqBbV0GRn
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 17, 2024
“There are no guarantees that Bitcoin’s 21 million supply limit will not change,” stated the contentious remark.
The disclaimer appears during a narrator’s explanation emphasizing that Bitcoin’s supply is strictly capped by the rules embedded in its protocol code—a fundamental feature protecting against uncontrolled issuance of new coins.
Some commentators expressed enthusiasm that a major institutional player like BlackRock is taking Bitcoin seriously enough to produce an educational video. However, many focused on the mention of the supply limit and its potential alteration.
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor shared the video but did not comment on the controversial segment.
What is this misinformation that supply cap is not guaranteed at 1:32? This is set in stone, every change to it will not be #Bitcoin anymore, it will fork into something else.
— Bold ₿itcoin Baller (@BoldBBaller) December 17, 2024
“What is this misinformation at 1:32? [The emission rules] are set in stone. Any change would result in a hard fork, and it would no longer be Bitcoin,” one user remarked.
Dashpay Marketing Director Joel Valenzuela suggested this could be part of a broader conspiracy, arguing that the firm is preparing the public for a future where the limit might indeed be changed.
THIS IS NOT AN ALTERED SCREENSHOT
— Joel Valenzuela (@TheDesertLynx) December 18, 2024
Michael Saylor, the unequivocal face and most influential person in Bitcoin today, posted a video from BlackRock with a really interesting disclaimer:
"There is no guarantee that bitcoin's 21 million supply cap will not be changed."
They're… pic.twitter.com/Xg3sQP9BJw
“They’re getting everyone accustomed to this idea. When the limit increase happens, it will seem like it was ‘always part of the plan.’ And yet here in 2024, people dare to claim Bitcoin hasn’t been co-opted,” he said.
For some, an increase in supply seems inevitable. One user noted that without adjusting the block size, predictable issuance and inflation might be the better solution, as miners would otherwise lose incentives to process transactions.
Currently, miner rewards for each block include transaction fees and a “subsidy” from newly minted coins, which halves every 210,000 blocks. The current reward is 3.125 BTC per block.
Another commenter speculated that BlackRock might simply be protecting itself legally in case of a future Bitcoin fork that creates a new coin still referred to as Bitcoin.
Since technically Bitcoin could hardfork into another coin with over 21M coins – even though the chance is near zero – Blackrock needs to cover themselves in the case it does happen in who knows, 10, 20 or 50 years down the line.
— Ed⚡Freedom Technology Stacker (@Crypt0lution) December 18, 2024
Emphasis on the fact this fork would be ANOTHER…
“While the chances of a hard fork are near zero, BlackRock may want to safeguard against this possibility in the next 10, 20, or 50 years. They’re emphasizing that any forked coin would be different, even if people called it Bitcoin,” he explained.
Notably, in its 2025 forecast, BlackRock described Bitcoin as a “promising diversifier.”
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