Currently 90.48% of the total digital gold issue has been mined, which is limited to 21 million Bitcoins.
According to the algorithm laid down by Satoshi Nakamoto, the reward is reduced by 50% every 210,000 blocks. The next halving (the process of reducing the rate of generation of new cryptocurrency units.) is expected in 2024. Coin number 18,000,000 was mined back on October 19, 2019. By 2140, block rewards are expected to stop issuing new Bitcoins, and the reward system for miners will be based entirely on transaction fees.
Although data shows that 19 million Bitcoins have been mined, no one knows exactly how many are actually in circulation. This is because there are an unknown number of unreached or lost coins that will never be spent.
However, Satoshi Nakamoto explained the lost coin dilemma when the inventor said that unobtainable Bitcoins would make the crypto-asset more scarce and therefore more valuable. “Lost coins only slightly increase the value of other people’s coins. Think of it as a donation to everyone,” Nakamoto said.
