How Many Bitcoins Are Left

If you’re wondering about the total supply of Bitcoin and the mining process behind it, take a look at our extensive guide on how many bitcoins are left and how many are currently in circulation.

We’ll also talk about the number of bitcoins in a block, the amount that is mined every day, as well as the price of BTC mining.

Why Is There Only 21 Million Bitcoins?

The total supply of bitcoins is 21 million. This means that BTC will no longer be mined after reaching this limit. But why did Satoshi pick this exact number? The answer lies in balancing BTC’s value with other currencies. As the first cryptocurrency, Satoshi considered this number to be a well-informed guess.

Satoshi also wanted to ensure that his project wouldn’t be worth less than existing currencies, in case it didn’t become popular. I.e., he wanted BTC to have a capped supply so that it would be worth much more per unit.

How Many Bitcoins Are There Today?

How many bitcoins are in circulation? At the time of writing, there are 19,704,237.5 BTCs in circulation. However, since new blocks are mined every 10 minutes, this number will be incremented every 10 minutes. With that in mind, the number of circulating BTCs grew by nearly 20 million from 2009 to 2024. For example, its circulation in 2009 was only 1.3 million. As of May 9, 2024, there are approximately 1,295,762.5 bitcoins left to be mined.

How Many Bitcoins Are Mined a Day?

To answer this question, we have to use math. With that in mind, about 144 new blocks are mined every day. As mentioned before, each block contains 3,125 BTCs. This means that around 450 BTCs are created every day. We got this number by multiplying the number of mined blocks per day, which is 144, with the number of BTCs per block, which is 3,125.

How Much Does It Cost to Mine One Bitcoin?

On average, mining one BTC costs $38,000. However, the total cost will depend on the efficiency of the mining rig, the hash rate, and the total energy consumed.

How Long Does It Take to Mine Bitcoin?

Depending on the mining rig, mining one BTC takes between 10 minutes and 1026 days. A solo miner must have 5,000 mining rigs to mine one BTC in a single day.

How Much Power Is Needed to Mine 1 Bitcoin?

It takes about 266,000 kWh of electricity to mine 1 BTC. Moreover, a solo miner must use a hash rate of 600,000 (TH/s) to mine 1 BTC per day.

How Many Bitcoins Are Lost?

It’s hard to say. However, according to general estimates, about 7.8 million bitcoins are lost, mostly due to forgotten passwords. At a current rate, this would mean that about $469 billion is lost.

What Happens When All Bitcoins Are Mined?

Once all bitcoins are mined, the network will stop issuing new BTCs. This will mostly affect BTC miners and major Bitcoin mining sites. Although there will be no more new BTCs, Bitcoin miners will still receive rewards in the form of transaction fees. This means that transaction fees will become their main source of income. As the demand for BTC grows, so will its transactional fees.

When Will the Last Bitcoin Be Mined?

The last BTC will be mined sometime in 2140. This means that in about 116 years, all 21 million BTCs will be mined. This also means we’ll have 33 more BTC halving events. The next BTC halving will take place in 2028. Once this event takes place, the number of BTC rewards per block will be 1.5625, while the number of created BTC per day will be around 225.

What Factors Affect the Mining of Bitcoin?

Here are the main factors that will affect the BTC mining process:

Consensus Mechanism

Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work consensus mechanism to add new blocks to its network. This means that each block will have a specific hash power. To create new blocks, miners will have to generate a hash rate that is lower or the same as the block. 

They achieve this by using mining rigs that consume much computing power. Moreover, BTC mining is fairly expensive. It takes about $38,000 to mine 1 BTC. Likewise, BTC mining consumes about 266,000 kWh of electricity.

This is why many platforms offer cloud mining options, which make BTC mining more accessible to the crypto community.

At the same time, many new projects are switching to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus to reduce the negative impact on the environment.

Legality

BTC is illegal in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China, while in the US, it falls under the money services business. This means that it is subject to taxes. However, the Department of Energy may ban BTC mining in the future due to its negative impact on the environment. This will force BTC miners to find alternative ways of mining.

BTC Halving

Bitcoin halving is an event that takes place every four years. During this event, BTC mining rewards are halved, which reduces miner revenue. For example, in 2009, miners received 50 bitcoins per block. In 2012, this figure stood at 25 BTCs per block, while the current reward per block is 3,125 BTCs. Lower mining rewards equal higher transactional fees. 

The halving event also causes jumps in the value of BTC. For example, 300 days after BTC halving in 2020, the price of Bitcoin jumped from $8,601 to $50,941. On that note, the 2024 halving event could push BTC to reach its ATH of $90,000 by the end of the year.

Conclusion

The total Bitcoin supply stands at 21 million. About 19,704,237.5 BTCs are currently in circulation, which means that approximately 1,295,762.5 are left to be mined. About 450 new Bitcoins and 144 blocks are created every day.

As of April 2024, one block contains 3,125 BTCs. Bitcoin will stop issuing in 2140, meaning its transactional fees will become the main source of income for BTC miners.

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