Bitcoin's 21 million limit is unchangeable: CEO refutes gold synthesis theory

According to Woofun AI, Coinbase (COIN.US) CEO Brian Armstrong published an article on the X platform on October 26, 2026, reaffirming that the Bitcoin (BTC) 21 million token release limit is absolutely mathematically immutable. This characteristic makes it fundamentally different from the physical supply rules of traditional gold.

Armstrong pointed out that with the maturity of synthetic technologies such as diamonds cultivated in laboratories, it is gradually becoming possible to manufacture synthetic gold through advanced scientific processes, which means that the scarcity of gold faces the risk of being diluted by technology. By contrast, no matter what future innovations emerge, there is no technical method to increase the pre-set token release of this pioneering cryptocurrency. Digital asset investor Anthony Pompliano shared the CEO's views on the same platform.

This debate over relative scarcity coincides with a period of general weakness in the performance of various investment products during this fiscal year. According to data compiled by Woofun AI, Bitcoin's decline has reached 7.3% since 2026, while gold's decline is 7.5%. Both are the worst performing large-cap assets since this year, and there has been a simultaneous retracement that has never been seen before in the previous 12-month cycle. Previously, gold had a cumulative increase of 63.7% throughout 2025. This correction is a normal correction after a high level. Looking at a longer dimension, Bilello's analysis shows that since 2011, Bitcoin's annualized return was around 120.6%, while gold's annualized return over the same period was only 6.3%. In recent years, the high correlation between these two markets has sparked different views among macroeconomic analysts. Economist Peter Schiff said in August last year that he observed that capital was flowing from digital assets to traditional metals because of differences in the breakthrough price levels of the two assets.

Armstrong's emphasis on mathematical immutability is rooted in open source software launched by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. The technical specification sets out a gradually decreasing token issuance plan, where every 210,000 blocks are mined, block rewards will be cut in half. This process is known as “halving.” Any attempt to change the total supply would require a hard fork of the relevant agreement. According to network documentation, such changes require miners, infrastructure providers, developers, and independent full-node operators to agree voluntarily.

If a proposal is not widely accepted, existing nodes will refuse to process blocks that do not comply with the rules, thereby maintaining the original supply rules on the main chain. Against the backdrop of continuing fluctuations in the macroeconomic situation and continuous adjustments in global interest rates, the financial industry continues to evaluate the applicability of these two assets as value storage tools. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, the upcoming token issuance plan review and spot platform trading volume statistics will provide objective data to understand the adoption of these two assets by various institutions.