93% of Bitcoin Supply Already Mined
The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, and since its introduction in 2009, the percentage of this supply that has been mined has reached 93%. In December 2023, the total percentage of the mined BTC supply surpassed the 93% mark, and Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, celebrated this milestone on Twitter.
According to data from Blockchain.com, as of December 5, a total of 19,560,877.158 BTC has been mined. This means that between April 2022 and December 2023, less than 600 BTC were added to circulation, indicating a reduced supply rate.
In the early days of Bitcoin, over 2 million coins were mined between January 2009 and January 2010. However, as each halving event halves block rewards, the supply rate will continue to decrease in the coming years.
The next halving event is scheduled for 2024, which will further reduce the amount of new BTC entering circulation. This scarcity is expected to drive up the value of the coin.
How Many BTCs Are Left to Be Mined?
With 93% of the total supply already mined, there are slightly over 1.4 million coins remaining out of the original 21 million supply. However, mining this remaining 7% will take significantly longer compared to the previously mined supply.
Based on the halving schedule (every four years), it will take another 117 years to mine the remaining 1.44 million BTC. The last block is projected to be mined in 2140, after which no more BTC will be available for mining.
While it took only 14 years to mine 19.6 million BTC, it will take nearly 10 times that amount of time to mine the remaining 7% of the supply. The final Bitcoin halving event is also expected to occur in the same year.
Hot Take: The Future of Bitcoin Mining
Once all the BTC has been mined, miners are anticipated to seek higher transaction fees as compensation for their activities since they will no longer receive block rewards. However, the value of BTC is predicted to rise with each halving, providing ongoing incentives for miners in the years to come.
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