21 Million

94% of Bitcoin's Supply Has Now Been Issued

Published

4 months ago

August 19, 2024

A milestone has been reached in Bitcoin’s supply schedule – 94% of the total Bitcoin supply has now been issued through mining. Out of a hard-capped total of 21 million BTC, over 19.74 million have been mined so far.

Bitcoin’s supply is issued through mining, where computers validate transactions and receive Bitcoin as a reward. The initial mining subsidy was 50 BTC per block, which halves every 210,000 blocks or roughly every 4 years.

This event called the Bitcoin halving, ensures a predictable, diminishing inflation rate as the supply grows. There have been three halvings, cutting the subsidy from 50 to 25 to 12.5 to the current 6.25 BTC.

The halvings combined with increasing difficulty and competition mean fewer and fewer new bitcoin enters circulation over time. Out of the maximum 21 million BTC, over 94% or 19,741,655 BTC have been mined since Bitcoin’s launch in 2009.

That leaves only around 1.26 million BTC to be issued. With the current 6.25 BTC block reward, the remaining supply will take over 100 more years to fully mint. Experts estimate 99.9% of all bitcoin will be mined by 2140, with miners mostly earning fees rather than subsidies by then.

This controlled supply schedule is a key aspect of Bitcoin’s value proposition. As the issuance slows and demand grows, Bitcoin is designed to become scarcer over time – an attractive attribute for investors facing unlimited fiat money printing and currency debasement.

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21 Million

No, BlackRock Can't Change Bitcoin

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

admin

Recently, BlackRock released an educational video explaining Bitcoin, which I thought was great—it’s amazing to see Bitcoin being discussed on such a massive platform. But, of course, Bitcoin X (Twitter) had a meltdown over one specific line in the video: “There is no guarantee that Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap will not be changed.”

HealthRnager from Natural News claimed, “Bitcoin has become far too centralized, and now the wrong people largely control its algorithms. They are TELLING you in advance what they plan to do.”

Now, let me be clear: this is total nonsense. The controversy is overhyped, and the idea that BlackRock would—or even could—change bitcoin’s supply is laughable. The statement in their video is technically true, but it’s just a legal disclaimer. It doesn’t mean BlackRock is plotting to inflate bitcoin’s supply. And even if they were, they don’t have the power to pull it off.

Bitcoin’s 21 million cap is fundamental—it’s not up for debate. The entire Bitcoin ecosystem—miners, developers, and nodes—operates on this core principle. Without it, Bitcoin wouldn’t be Bitcoin. And while BlackRock is a financial giant and holds over 500,000 Bitcoin for its ETF, its influence over Bitcoin is practically nonexistent.

Bitcoin is a proof-of-work (PoW) system, not a proof-of-stake (PoS) system. It doesn’t matter how much bitcoin BlackRock owns; economic nodes hold the real power.

Let’s play devil’s advocate for a second. Say BlackRock tries to propose a protocol change to increase bitcoin’s supply. What happens? The vast network of nodes would simply reject it. Bitcoin’s history proves this. Remember Roger Ver and the Bitcoin Cash fork? He had significant influence and holdings, yet his version of bitcoin became irrelevant because the majority of economic actors didn’t follow him.

If Bitcoin could be controlled by a single entity like BlackRock, it would’ve failed a long time ago. The U.S. government, with its endless money printer, could easily acquire 10% of the supply if that’s all it took to control Bitcoin. But that’s not how Bitcoin works. Its decentralized nature ensures no single entity—no matter how powerful—can dictate its terms.

So, stop worrying about BlackRock “changing” Bitcoin. Their influence has hard limits. Even if they tried to push developers to change the protocol, nodes would reject it. Bitcoin’s decentralization is its greatest strength, and no one—not BlackRock, not Michael Saylor—can change that.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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