Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin is not issued by a government or Central Bank, and so has no central authority pulling its strings, its 'monetary policy' hardcoded into the software itself.
Bitcoin has a capped supply at 21 million coins, with about 19.5 million in circulation. New Bitcoin is paid to 'miners' who secure transactions and maintain the network's ledger.
Bitcoin network currently produces and pays miners 6.25 Bitcoin every 10 minutes, but this will halve to 3.125 after achieving a milestone, following a predictable emission reduction schedule initiated in 2009.
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