Bitcoin Network Reaches a Major Milestone Today: 20 Million Bitcoins Mined, representing 95% of the total supply of 21 million in circulation. The remaining 1 million Bitcoins will take approximately 114 years to be fully mined. As the halving mechanism continues, what will happen when all Bitcoins are mined? How will the network operate? This article provides an in-depth analysis.
Bitcoin Mined 20 Million, Remaining 100 Will Take 114 Years to Mine
Recently, Bitcoin officially mined its 20 millionth BTC at block height 939,999, successfully mined by the Foundry USA mining pool. This means that, under the maximum supply cap of 21 million, about 95% of Bitcoins are now in circulation, with roughly 1 million Bitcoins expected to be gradually mined over the next approximately 114 years.
This extended issuance curve is driven by the core “halving mechanism” in the Bitcoin protocol. Every 210,000 blocks (roughly four years), the block reward halves. Since the network launched in 2009, the block reward has decreased sequentially from 50 BTC to 25, 12.5, 6.25, and now 3.125 BTC.
Bitcoin Halving and Supply Changes
With each halving, the rate of supply continues to slow down. According to current design, the last Bitcoin (or rather, nearly less than one Bitcoin) is expected to be mined around 2140.
What happens when all Bitcoins are mined? Miners’ income will rely solely on transaction fees
Once all 21 million Bitcoins are mined, the Bitcoin network will not stop operating, but its economic structure will undergo significant changes.
Currently, miners earn revenue from two sources: “block rewards (newly issued BTC)” and “transaction fees.” At present, the block reward still constitutes the majority of miners’ income, with transaction fees usually making up a smaller portion.
However, as halving events continue, the block reward will gradually decrease. After 2140, miners will rely entirely on transaction fees for income. They will still validate blocks and maintain network security by packaging transactions and competing for block inclusion, but their rewards will no longer come from newly issued Bitcoins.
Therefore, the long-term core issue for Bitcoin is network security: can transaction fee levels provide enough economic incentives for miners to continue dedicating computational power to maintain the network?
BeInCrypto suggests several solutions, including promoting the adoption of the Lightning Network, exploring new applications like Ordinals and BRC-20, or waiting for a mature, self-regulating fee market to develop.
Decreasing Supply: Lost Bitcoins and Lower Actual Circulating Supply
Despite the official cap of 21 million Bitcoins, the actual circulating supply may be significantly lower.
Chainalysis estimates that between 2.3 million and 3.7 million BTC are permanently lost due to lost private keys, hardware failures, death of holders, or mistaken transfers. Notably, about 1.1 million BTC are believed to have been mined by Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and have remained untouched for 17 years.
Since Bitcoin has no central authority to reissue or recover lost assets, once private keys are lost, those Bitcoins are effectively locked forever. As a result, the actual available supply in circulation is even more scarce.
(Bitcoin Distribution Map: Satoshi Holds the Largest Share, US and UK Rise as Reserves through Seizures)
A 17-Year Unchanged Commitment: Returning to Bitcoin’s Narrative
Since the creation of the Genesis Block in 2009, Bitcoin’s issuance and operational mechanisms have always followed the rules encoded in its software: from block creation, halving events, to the gradual decrease in supply. No single entity can unilaterally change these rules.
In traditional finance, money supply is typically adjusted by governments or central banks, often in response to economic or political needs. In contrast, Bitcoin’s supply is hardcoded and verified by a global network of nodes, making its monetary policy highly transparent and predictable—an ideal example of “Code is Law.”
With the issuance of the 20 millionth Bitcoin, this over 17-year-old digital currency’s operational integrity has been reaffirmed. In an era filled with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, Bitcoin’s fixed and unchanging supply curve has become one of its most symbolic features for supporters.
(Market Price Reverts to Long-Term Adoption Trends: Six Reasons Why Bitcoin Is Not Heading Toward a Bear Market)
This article “Bitcoin Mined 20 Million! The Last 1 Million Will Take a Century—What Will Happen When All Are Mined?” originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.
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