Read also – 20 interesting facts about Bitcoin
Most of these cryptocurrencies are only available in finite supply. The source code for each of these coins has some instructions to outline the number of units that will exist. Miners cannot produce any more units of these currencies once the upper limit is reached. Since the supply is limited, these currencies are deflationary. The Bitcoin is characterized by limited supply, and nobody was worried about the supply until now.
Traditional currency is still available since central banks continue to print every day. Gold and other metals, such as silver and platinum, are still valuable since people can only mine a certain quantity every year. For Bitcoins, however, the value is on the rise since this currency is scarcely available. Regardless of what price you want to sell a Bitcoin for, there are only so many coins available. Before we look at how many Bitcoins are mined, let us look at how many there were initially.
Based on the source code of the Bitcoin, it is known that there can only be 21 million Bitcoins in the cryptocurrency world. This does not mean that there are 21 million Bitcoins that people can purchase at any time. It goes without saying that this cryptocurrency is scarcer than gold or platinum. These metals are difficult to mine, but it is believed there is an infinite supply since there are new mines being discovered.
How Many Bitcoins Are There Today?
People had started to invest in Bitcoins over the years, and we only have 18 million Bitcoins left to invest in. You can follow the supply and demand of Bitcoins in different ways:
- A Bitcoin tracker developed by Messari with metrics about the supply and demand
- Graphical forms of data available on blockchain.com
How Many Are Left To Be Mined?
This is an important question, especially if you want to invest in crypto. Of the 21 million Bitcoins, 18.4 million Bitcoins have been mined. This means we only have 2.6 million Bitcoins to mine. People invested in Bitcoins in 10 years, but analyses show that it will take almost 120 years for the Bitcoins to be mined. This is because of a concept known as Bitcoin halving. As per the source code, the number of Bitcoins developed in each block are halved every four years. In 2020, you can earn 6.25 Bitcoins when you invest in a block. The Bitcoins earned will decrease to 3.125 in 2024.
It is simple to calculate the number of Bitcoins you can invest in now. To do this,
- Take the current supply of Bitcoins (18.4 million)
- Deduct the number of Bitcoins lost in the last few years (There is no way to calculate this. However, for the sake of argument, let us assume that we lost 2 million Bitcoins)
This leaves you with 16.4 million Bitcoins. You cannot gather the whole story through this number. The Bitcoins mined and available are directly related to the number of buyers versus sellers. Since investors sell faster when there is a bear market, more Bitcoins are available. In a bull market, every investor chooses to buy a Bitcoin and hold onto it. This reduces the number of coins available in the market. There have been rumors that there is a significant decrease in the number of Bitcoins available in the market. So, if you want to invest in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoins or Bitcoin cash, you should start now.
