The number of mined bitcoins has surpassed 18.5 million units. There are fewer than 2.5 million coins left to mine, or just under 12% of the total supply.
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About half of the remaining bitcoins will be mined over the next four years, as noted by user @ChartsBtc.
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The Bitcoin network has passed 18,500,000 BTC in circulation. Less than 2,500,000 left and half of those will be mined in the next 4 years. #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/0yPo57XIaR
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— ChartsBTC (@ChartsBtc) September 27, 2020
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Under the Bitcoin protocol established by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, new bitcoins are generated each time a new block of transactions. The number of coins per block decreases periodically: every four years a halving occurs—reducing the miners’ reward by half. The aim of the halving is to control the cryptocurrency’s issuance and curb inflation.
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Thus, Bitcoin’s emission is precisely scheduled, and the total number of coins that will ever be issued is known—21 million. The final issuance is expected to occur in 2140.
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Since 2009, Bitcoin has undergone three halvings. As a result of the most recent one in May 2020, the miners’ reward fell to 6.25 BTC.
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Earlier in September, following another recalculation of the mining difficulty, the mining difficulty rose by 11.35%, reaching a new all-time high — 19.31 trillion hashes.
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