--- title: "They’ve Now Mined Almost All the Bitcoin That Will Ever Exist" description: "Bitcoin — with a capital B — was designed to have a hard cap of 21 million Bitcoins, a limited coin supply. Miners are about to hit the 19 million mark." date: "2022-04-01" modified: "2022-04-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mined-almost-all-bitcoin-exist" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "blockchain" - "cryptocurrency" - "the digest" --- # They’ve Now Mined Almost All the Bitcoin That Will Ever Exist ![Bitcoin — with a capital B — was designed to have a hard cap of 21 million Bitcoins, a limited coin supply. Miners are about to hit the 19 million mark.]() *\Image: Paul Ratje/For The Washington Post via Getty Images via Getty Images\* ## Hard Cap Bitcoin was designed to have a hard cap of 21 million Bitcoins, a limited coin supply that in some ways mimics the theoretically finite supply of other valuable goods like gold. Well over a decade after the first Bitcoin was mined, the mainstream cryptocurrency is nearing its next threshold: 19 million mined Bitcoins, as [*Axios* notes](), a notable milestone. Which leaves the obvious question: what happens as the world bears down on that final supply? The answer, it turns out, is anything but clear. ## Half Life Roughly every four years, the number of Bitcoins minted for each block in Bitcoin's blockchain gets halved, slowing down the mining process significantly. Once the very last Bitcoin is mined, miners will no longer get any reward. Given the currently established rate, though, the final 21 millionth Bitcoin won't be mined [for over 100 years](). One complexifier is that we're not even sure if there even are 19 million Bitcoins currently circulating. In 2020, for instance, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis found that around 3.7 million coins [hadn't been touched for at least five years](). Other firms [suggest]() around three million will never be retrieved. In short, nobody really seems to know the significance of hitting the 19 million mark. Still, that means that more than 90 percent of the Bitcoins that will ever exist are already out there — a striking figure. ## Proof of Work At the time of writing, a single Bitcoin is still valued at over $45,000, so the news hasn't exactly had much of an effect. But will Bitcoin always be worth that much? Mining the token, a process referred to as "proof-of-work," is an energy intensive and environmentally harmful process, meaning that once its value falls enough, miners may no longer be incentivized to continue. Needless to say, as the supply of coins becomes shorter, much will come to hinge on the future value of the currency. Institutionally, [governments]() and the [banking industry]() have increasingly started embracing Bitcoin as a legitimate currency. Miners worldwide also [made record revenue]() from mining Bitcoin in 2021. Proof-of-work mining has proved to be far less popular, with governments around the globe banning the practice, including China, once home to the [largest Bitcoin mines](), [citing its massive carbon footprint]() and connections to shady practices. Where does that leave the future of Bitcoin? That's the billion dollar question on the minds of crypto investors — and the answer is as hazy as ever. **READ MORE:** [Bitcoin nears full supply with 19 million coin milestone]() \[*Axios*\] **More on Bitcoin:** *[Exxon Mobil Is Starting to Burn Excess Gas to Mine Bitcoin]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()