Bitcoin recently surpassed the milestone of 20 million coins mined, resulting in less than 1 million BTC left to issue under its fixed supply cap of 21 million coins. This developmental phase represents a significant moment for the network, especially since it initially crossed the 95% supply threshold in November 2025.
The achievement was noted at a block height of 939,999, which was mined by the Foundry USA mining pool. As the total number of mined Bitcoin reaches 20 million, the remaining coins will gradually be released over the next 114 years, as the network’s block rewards continue to diminish with its programmed halving cycles.
The issuance of Bitcoin began in January 2009 with an initial block reward of 50 BTC, which is designed to halve approximately every four years or after every 210,000 blocks mined. The most recent halving took place on April 20, 2024, reducing the reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This adjustment notably decelerates the influx of new supply into the market.
Currently, miners produce around 450 BTC daily, a decrease from the 900 BTC generated prior to the 2024 halving. In addition to the block reward, miners also earn transaction fees which are expected to become the primary revenue source as the issuance of new coins continues to decline.
It is important to note that a portion of the mined Bitcoin is permanently unspendable, totaling around 230 BTC, which includes the block reward from Bitcoin’s genesis block along with other outputs tied to scripts that render them unusable. Furthermore, analysts predict that between three and four million BTC might be irretrievably lost due to issues such as misplaced private keys, discarded hardware, and wallets from the early days of Bitcoin. Considering these circumstances, the effective Bitcoin available for trading could represent as little as 30% to 40% of the total mined supply.