How will Bitcoin miners survive after 2140? An analysis of the fee economy

【Crypto World】The story of Bitcoin miners is far from over. Even around 2140, when block rewards completely disappear, miners will still be indispensable for maintaining network security — this is not speculation, but the hard logic of the protocol.

Currently, the block income consists of two parts: newly minted Bitcoin (block rewards) and user transaction fees. As mining difficulty adjusts and issuance decreases, miners’ revenue focus will inevitably shift toward transaction fees. Here’s a key point: Bitcoin’s block capacity is limited, and the amount of transactions that can be packed into a block is fixed. When the network is busy and transactions are piling up, miners act like settlement agents, processing transactions in order of priority, with those offering higher fees being confirmed first.

This model actually draws from the operational logic of traditional payment processors — the scarcity of block space is their pricing power. The higher the demand, the higher the transaction fees, and the greater the incentive for miners. In the long run, Bitcoin’s network security is essentially guaranteed by this economic incentive mechanism.