14 Dec 2021
90% of the total bitcoin supply is now mined
90% of the total bitcoin supply has now been mined, and Bitcoin’s issuance rate will soon be lower than for gold.
Bitcoin's circulating supply is now 18.9 million, while the maximum supply is 21 million. It will take around 120 years for miners to mine the remaining 2.1 million coins.Currently, a block reward of 6.25 bitcoin is mined approximately every 10 minutes. Following the protocol rules, the block reward halves every fourth year and will be 3.125 in 2024.Based on the current issuance rate, bitcoin has an issuance rate of 1.8%. The low issuance rate combined with the limited supply makes it a potential inflation hedge against fiat currencies with much higher inflation rates and unlimited supply.Before Bitcoin was invented, gold was the hardest form of money, meaning that it has had the lowest and least elastic issuance rate. These features made gold the preferred store of value throughout history. While gold currently has a lower issuance rate than bitcoin, its supply is not limited.Since Bitcoin's supply is limited and the issuance rate of new bitcoin will gradually decrease and become lower than for gold, many investors are speculating that bitcoin will overtake gold's role as the hardest form of money and best store of value.