Bitcoin’s mined supply hits 20 million milestone, leaving final 1 million BTC to be issued over next 114 years
Bitcoin's mined supply has surpassed 20 million BTC, with the remaining 1 million coins expected to be issued over the next 114 years.Summary
Seventeen years after its genesis block, Bitcoin's mined supply has exceeded 20 million BTC, reaching this milestone at block height 939,999, according to on-chain data. This event highlights the front-loaded nature of Bitcoin's issuance schedule, as the block subsidy reward halves approximately every four years, drastically slowing the rate of new supply.
With the current subsidy at 3.125 BTC following the April 2024 halving, analysts estimate that the final one million coins will take more than a century to mine, with the hard cap of 21 million expected to be reached around 2140. This predictable, declining issuance is considered a defining characteristic that distinguishes Bitcoin from traditional monetary systems, offering programmable scarcity.
Early developer Hal Finney once speculated on the implications of this fixed supply, suggesting that if Bitcoin became the dominant payment network, its value could theoretically mirror global household wealth, giving each coin a value of about $10 million based on 2009 estimates.
(Source：The Block)