Unless you are a total newbie to the crypto world,
Unless you are a total newbie to the crypto world, you would definitely know what Bitcoin is.
As the pioneering cryptocurrency that really set the ball rolling for the crypto sphere, Bitcoin enjoys a pride of place among all other cryptocurrencies.
If you indeed are a rank newcomer to the world of crypto, you might want to begin by taking a look at our article “What is Bitcoin“. As we know, Bitcoin supply was fixed right at the outset.
The hard cap on Bitcoin supply was set at 21 million when Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious entity, published the Bitcoin whitepaper about a decade ago.
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So, this means that there can only be a certain number of Bitcoins mined, ever. Now, this raises the question: how may Bitcoins have been mined already? And how many are left to mine?
The answer can be determined by means of a fairly simple calculation.
For this, we need to know two values: the total supply (which we have already mentioned, is 21 million) and the number of Bitcoins that are already in circulation.
How Many Bitcoins Have Already Been Mined?
To know this number, we can simply take a look at the continuously updated chart provided by Coinmarketcap.com. Every bit of information provided by this particular website on prices, market capitalisation, supply etc. is taken to be the industry standard. Therefore, we also shall get our information from here.
According to Coinmarketcap data, the number of Bitcoins currently in supply is 17.5 Million. Since mining is the only way Bitcoin can be produced. This provides the answer to our question: how many Bitcoins have been mined?
This number constitutes a little over 80% of the total supply cap- 83.33% to be very specific.
How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Be Mined?
To figure out how many Bitcoins may still be mined and produced, we have to again do a simple calculation. We need to just subtract 17.5 million from 21 million, which will give us the value.
The calculation tells us that there are 3.5 million Bitcoins still left to be mined by crypto miners.
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Does This Mean Bitcoins Will End Soon?
So given only a small portion of the total number of Bitcoins is left, does it mean it will all end too fast? Absolutely not.
The Bitcoin protocol is built in such a way that it does not encourage incremental rates of mining. The block rewards keep dropping as time goes on.
The mining difficulty also keeps on rising.
Based on these facts, it is estimated that the remaining 3.5 million Bitcoins will take another 122 years to be mined.
This means the last Bitcoin will be mined in 2140. While you need not worry at all, you may check out our article “What Happens When All Bitcoins Are Mined?” if you are very curious.
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