Bitcoin BTC

Issuance is fixed in code and capped at 21 million coins. The block reward halves every 210,000 blocks, and difficulty readjusts so that a block is found roughly every ten minutes no matter how much hardware joins. The rules are enforced by no operator but by every node for itself: anyone can run the software, which is precisely why the rules cannot be changed without users agreeing. The spending language is deliberately thin — nodes verify signatures and simple conditions, they do not run arbitrary programs.

Hence the role Bitcoin settled into: a base settlement layer and a long-horizon store of value rather than a venue for applications. Small fast payments and richer logic are bolted on through second layers such as Lightning.

The thin scripting language is a deliberate choice, not an omission: the less the network can execute, the smaller its surface for bugs and for disputes over the rules.