Bitcoins supply just got a bit more limited.
The 17th Million Bitcoin has been mined since Bitcoin inception.
The 21 Million Bitcoin Question
There can only be 21 million Bitcoins in the world. This artificial scarcity is unlike any other because this number cannot be changed. At the moment, there are 12.5 Bitcoins being mined every 10 minutes. Since every Bitcoin block produces 12.5 new Bitcoins, about 1, 800 new Bitcoins are created each day.
This however will change come late 2019. At this time, an event known as the halving will take place. A halving means that the number of Bitcoins being mined at any one time will be reduced to half. So in this case, instead of 12.5 new Bitcoins being produced every 10 minutes, the number will be halved to 6.25.
The last halving took place in 2016 before which 25BTC were being mined every 10 minutes. You can also think about it from this angle – Block rewards are halved with every 210, 000 blocks mined. This allows us to calculate with accuracy when the last block on the Bitcoin protocol will be mined which is about the year 2140.
Looking 122 Years Ahead
Based on the current rate of mining and the Bitcoin algorithm, the remaining 4 million coins will be completely mined in the next 122 years. As the number of Bitcoins to be mined drops, we can expect their value to go up with every new bitcoin that enters the economy.
How much do you think a Bitcoin will be worth by the year 2140?
