Only 10% of the Bitcoin Supply Left for Mining
New milestone reached as 90% of its total bitcoin supply is mined. The remaining supply is not expected to be mined before February 2140.
According to data gathered by popular blockchain tracker Blockchain.com, a new milestone has been reached for Bitcoin as of Monday morning, since 90% of all Bitcoins have already been mined. This accomplishment denotes that 18.89 million Bitcoins now circulate on the open market, out of a total possible 21 million.
Since the first Bitcoins were mined on 9 January 2009, reaching the 90% supply milestone has taken almost 12 years. However, this is no indication for the future, as estimates predict that the remaining supply of Bitcoins will not be mined before February 2140. Moreover, an added strain on supply is the fact that not all 21 million Bitcoin will be available, since 1 million is held by Bitcoin’s creator having been mined in the network’s early days, while an estimated 3.7 million Bitcoin have been somehow “lost” in the process, mainly due to owners losing their private keys.
Bitcoin becomes more scarce than ever?
Though the mining of the vast majority of the maximum supply does not necessarily mean less liquidity, as coins already issued may be traded on the market, in the case of Bitcoin most coins in circulation are held by entities with no selling track records. Once news that 90% has already been mined sinks in, the scarcity of Bitcoin will become more evident, and Fear Of Missing Out will emerge for all those interested in buying and holding Bitcoin.
