TechFlow News, June 28: According to a Cointelegraph report, Fidelity Digital Assets has refuted concerns in a new research report that Bitcoin’s long-term security will deteriorate as mining rewards decline, asserting that the network’s economic incentives remain sufficient to secure the blockchain over the long term. Authored by Fidelity research analyst Daniel Gray, the report reiterates that Bitcoin’s security depends not solely on block rewards—transaction fees and market-based incentives will continue to motivate miners to protect the network, making sustained attacks prohibitively expensive.
The report challenges a longstanding critique that Bitcoin’s security weakens with each four-year halving event due to reduced new coin issuance. It notes that since April 20, 2024, Bitcoin miners have received a subsidy of 3.125 BTC per block mined—down from 6.25 BTC in the prior halving cycle—but this reduction in issuance has not translated into diminished miner incentives, as Bitcoin’s price appreciation has more than offset the decline in block rewards. Gray points out that average daily miner revenue has grown from approximately $26,300 during Bitcoin’s first halving cycle to over $40.2 million today.
The report also notes that while Fidelity considers the long-term incentive structure sound, many publicly traded mining companies are currently facing financial pressure, prompting some to diversify into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing. A recent VanEck report estimates that publicly traded mining firms may require up to $50 billion in additional capital to fully transition to AI infrastructure.
