- About 10 percent of the total supply of Bitcoin is left to be mined, with the current circulating supply having reached 18.9 million coins.
- The last BTC will be mined more than a century from now.
On Monday morning, the total amount of BTC in circulation hit 18.899 million, or 90 percent of the maximum supply the asset will ever have, according to Blockchain.com. This milestone comes just one and a half years after the last Bitcoin halving. With this, now only 10 percent of the total supply is left to mine.
The digital asset has a hard cap of 21 million coins, set by its anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This restriction is written on Bitcoin’s source code and enforced by network nodes.
Related: Expert opinions and network status before Bitcoin halving
The BTC blockchain rewards miners with Bitcoin every time they verify a new block. Halving, a pre-determined protocol execution cuts miners’ rewards by half every four years. It lessens the amount of Bitcoin produced, while the total circulating supply increases. Typically, for Bitcoin, this takes place every leap year or every 210,000 blocks.
Bitcoin halving and expected value
The first halving took place in November 2012, cutting the block reward to 25 Bitcoin. The second and third halving was in 2016 and 2020, with rewards reducing to 12.5 and 6.25 Bitcoin, respectively. As from 2024 Feb. 29 (projected date) or at block height 840,000, the next halving will take place, slashing miner rewards to 3.125.
While the current 90 percent of BTC took about 12 years to mine, the remaining portion will take longer than that. Blockchain.com says the last Bitcoin will be mined 119 years from now. In two decades, the block reward will have been pruned to less than 0.2 BTC. Only 80,000 out of the total 21 million Bitcoin will be there for the taking. The last Bitcoin will take nearly 40 years to mine.
Bitcoin’s inherent value as a currency and investment tool relies heavily on its hard cap and the deflationary system halving presents. A general price trend chart shows how the asset has gained value in its over two decades of existence, rising from less than a dollar to tens of thousands of dollars. Many enthusiasts still await the day the asset will hit a $1 million, billion, and even trillion value. However, vocal critics, like gold bug Peter Schiff maintain the Bitcoin “bubble” will burst in a tulip mania fashion.
Related: BTC is a better reserve than gold President Bukele tells Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff
BTC price analysis
BTC is still shying away from the $50K mark, having lost 0.8 percent in the day at press time. Our data at press time shows the asset now trades at $48,862.61, 30 percent down from its November all-time high of $68,789.
Renowned Bitcoin analysts PlanB forecasted a “worst-case” price scenario of “Dec>135K.” As the year’s end nears, it still remains to be seen how the asset will perform. And despite the recent downtrend, some industry players have taken this as a good chance for buying the dip.
Read More: PlanB unveils Bitcoin’s “worst-case scenario for 2021”, – $135,000 by December
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