How many Bitcoins are left to be mined?

By 2140, the projected year for complete Bitcoin mining, approximately 1.68 million bitcoins, or 8% of the total supply, will remain to be mined.

Aug 23, 2024 at 06:22 pm

How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Be Mined?

Bitcoin, the world's first and most well-known cryptocurrency, has a finite supply of 21 million coins. As of August 2023, approximately 92% of these bitcoins have been mined and are in circulation. This means that only about 1.68 million bitcoins remain to be mined.

Halving Events and Mining Rate

At regular intervals of approximately every four years, Bitcoin undergoes a "halving event." During these events, the block reward for miners is cut in half. This means that the number of new bitcoins entering the market each day is reduced, slowing down the rate at which the total supply increases.

The next halving event is expected to occur in 2024, at which point the block reward will decrease from the current 6.25 bitcoins to 3.125 bitcoins. This reduction will further slow down the rate of Bitcoin mining and bring us closer to the 21 million supply cap.

Estimated Timeline for Remaining Bitcoin Mining

According to current estimates, it is projected that all 21 million bitcoins will be mined by the year 2140. This timeline is based on the assumption that the block reward halving events continue as scheduled and that the mining difficulty remains constant.

Factors Affecting Bitcoin Mining

The rate at which bitcoins are mined can vary depending on several factors, including:

• Hashrate: The hashrate refers to the combined computing power of all miners in the Bitcoin network. A higher hashrate means that more blocks are being processed, leading to a faster mining rate.
• Mining Difficulty: The mining difficulty is adjusted automatically to ensure that the average block time remains at around 10 minutes. If the hashrate increases, the mining difficulty also increases, making it harder to find new blocks.
• Mining Hardware: The efficiency of mining hardware can impact the mining rate. Newer and more powerful mining machines can achieve higher hashrates, resulting in faster block discovery.

Implications of the Limited Bitcoin Supply

The limited supply of Bitcoin has several implications, including:

• Scarcity: As the number of bitcoins in circulation approaches 21 million, each individual bitcoin becomes scarcer, which could lead to increased value.
• Store of Value: Bitcoin's scarcity makes it a potential store of value, as it is not subject to the same inflation concerns as fiat currencies.
• Future Inflation: Once all 21 million bitcoins have been mined, there will be no new inflation introduced into the system, unless changes are made to the Bitcoin protocol.

As Bitcoin continues its journey towards the 21 million supply cap, it remains to be seen how this will affect its price and value in the long term.