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Why is Bitcoin capped at 21M, and not some other number?

Probably this 👇, but I'm not sure at all.
Number of blocks per four years cycle (assuming perfect timing of 10min per block):
  • 6 blocks per hour
  • 24 hours per day
  • 365 days per year
  • 4 years per cycle
6 * 24 * 365 * 4 = 210,240 ~= 210,000
Sum all the block reward sizes:
50 + 25 + 12.5 + 6.25 + 3.125 + … = 100
Multiply the two:
210,000 * 100 = 21 million.
Which is summarized by the formula:
I have a simpler answer to this, Satoshi Nakamoto is fascinated by the number 21
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I recommend this podcast, where Saifedean Ammous and Pierre Richard talk about this subject:
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