How Many Bitcoins Are Left For Mining In 2024?

Understanding the complex numerical foundation behind Bitcoin mining is critical to becoming a professional and experienced trader in the mainstream crypto market. Bitcoin’s circulation, mining capacity, and miners’ activities largely influence its price and market growth.

As of 2024 there are 1.3 million Bitcoins remaining to be mined.

In this article, we have answered the most important questions about Bitcoin circulation and mining. Each of these concepts will provide a simple yet in-depth knowledge about the underlying mechanism of the biggest and oldest cryptocurrency.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin’s supply and distribution: Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million, with approximately 19.7 million mined as of 2024. Around three to four million Bitcoins are estimated to be lost, and Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to own about one million Bitcoins. Roughly 900 Bitcoins are mined daily.
• Security and hacks: Significant hacks, such as the Mt. Gox (850,000 BTC) and Bitfinex (120,000 BTC) incidents, have resulted in the theft of more than 1.2 million Bitcoins. These events underscore the importance of security in the cryptocurrency space.
• Mining and network: The Bitcoin network is powered by millions of ASIC mining units, with an estimated four million miners contributing to the network’s hash rate. Most of these miners are part of large mining pools that dominate the industry.

How many Bitcoins are there now in circulation?

‘Bitcoin in circulation’ refers to the total number of Bitcoins that have been mined and are currently available for use or trade. When new Bitcoins are mined, they become part of the total supply and can be bought, sold, or held by people. The term doesn’t include Bitcoins that are lost or inaccessible, only those that are part of the active supply.

As of 2024, there are approximately 19.7 million Bitcoins in circulation. This number increases gradually due to the process of mining, where new Bitcoins are created as a reward for miners who validate and add new transactions to the Bitcoin blockchain. The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, and the rate at which new Bitcoins are mined decreases over time due to halving events, which occur roughly every four years.

The last Bitcoin halving occurred on 27 April 2024. During this event, the reward for mining a new block on the Bitcoin network was reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This halving is part of Bitcoin’s built-in protocol, designed to reduce the rate at which new Bitcoins are introduced into circulation.

The impact of this halving on the number of Bitcoins in circulation is gradual. Since the reward for miners is cut in half, the rate of new Bitcoins entering the market also slows down. As a result, Bitcoin becomes more scarce over time, which can increase demand and potentially drive up the price, although this effect is not immediate and can vary based on market conditions and investor sentiment.

How many Bitcoins will ever be Created?

A total of 21 million Bitcoins will ever be created. This limit is hard-coded into Bitcoin’s protocol, ensuring that no more than 21 million Bitcoins will ever exist. This fixed supply is a key feature of Bitcoin, contributing to its scarcity and often being compared to precious metals like gold. Once all 21 million Bitcoins have been mined, no new Bitcoins will be created, and the network will rely solely on transaction fees to incentivize miners.

Is there a limited amount of Bitcoin?

Yes, there is a limited amount of Bitcoin — 21 million. This limit exists because Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, designed the system with a fixed supply to mimic the scarcity of precious metals like gold. The limit was set to ensure that Bitcoin would be deflationary rather than inflationary, meaning its value could potentially increase over time as demand grows but the supply remains fixed.

Why this limit?

The 21 million limit was determined by Nakamoto as part of Bitcoin’s core design principles. Bitcoin’s creation was driven by the idea of creating a decentralized and scarce digital currency that couldn’t be manipulated by governments or central banks, unlike traditional fiat currencies, which can be printed in unlimited amounts.

How was the limit determined?

The limit was implemented through the way Bitcoin’s mining rewards work. When Bitcoin was launched, the reward for mining a block was 50 BTC. Every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years), the reward is halved in an event known as a ‘halving’. This process will continue until all 21 million Bitcoins have been mined, which is expected to occur around the year 2140.

Nakamoto did not explicitly state why 21 million was chosen in the original whitepaper, but it is likely a combination of mathematical simplicity and the intention to make Bitcoin a deflationary asset. The halving mechanism ensures that as more Bitcoins are mined, the rate at which new Bitcoins are created slows down, leading to an ever-decreasing supply of new coins until the maximum is reached.

How many Bitcoins are lost?

As of October 2024, estimates suggest that between three to four million Bitcoins have been lost. These Bitcoins are considered lost due to various reasons, including forgotten private keys, hardware failures, or even the death of the holders without passing on access information. This loss represents about 15-20% of the total Bitcoins that have been mined so far.

The exact number of lost Bitcoins is difficult to determine because the Bitcoin blockchain does not distinguish between Bitcoins that are lost and those that are simply not being spent. However, analysis of inactive addresses and historical transaction data has provided rough estimates of the total amount lost.

Why Bitcoins are lost:

1. Lost private keys: The most common reason Bitcoins are lost is users losing access to their private keys. A private key is necessary to access and control Bitcoins in a wallet. If a user forgets or misplaces this key, they lose access to their Bitcoins permanently.
2. Hardware failures: Physical damage to devices where private keys are stored, such as hard drives or USB sticks, can result in lost Bitcoins. For example, there have been cases where people accidentally disposed of hard drives containing private keys, losing access to significant amounts of Bitcoin.
3. Forgotten wallets: Early adopters of Bitcoin might have mined or received Bitcoins when they were worth very little and later forgot about them. As the value of Bitcoin increased, these forgotten wallets became significant but inaccessible.
4. Death without access transfer: If a Bitcoin holder dies without sharing their private keys or access information with anyone else, their Bitcoins are effectively lost unless someone else can access the private key.
5. Sending to incorrect addresses: Sending Bitcoins to an incorrect or non-existent address can also result in permanent loss. Once a transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it cannot be reversed.

What happens to lost Bitcoins?

Lost Bitcoins remain on the blockchain indefinitely, but they are effectively removed from circulation. They continue to exist in the Bitcoin network, but since no one can access them, they cannot be spent or transferred. This reduces the available supply of Bitcoins, which could contribute to an increase in value for the remaining bitcoins over time due to their increased scarcity.

How many Bitcoins are mined every day?

Approximately 900 Bitcoins are mined every day. This figure comes from the fact that a new block is added to the Bitcoin blockchain roughly every 10 minutes, and as of the most recent halving in April 2024, the reward for mining each block is 3.125 bitcoins. Since there are 144 blocks mined per day (24 hours * six blocks per hour), the daily production of new Bitcoins is around 900.

How many Bitcoins have been mined already?

As of 2024, approximately 19.7 million bitcoins have been mined. This figure includes all Bitcoins that have been created since the network’s inception in 2009. The total supply is capped at 21 million, which means that only about 1.55 million Bitcoins are left to be mined over the coming decades

How many Bitcoin blocks are there today?

As of October 2024, there are approximately 863,000 Bitcoin blocks. The most recent halving occurred at block 840,000 in April 2024, and blocks are added approximately every 10 minutes. The exact block number can vary slightly depending on the specific date and time you check.

This number continues to increase as miners add new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain, with one block typically being mined every 10 minutes.

How many Bitcoins does Satoshi have?

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is estimated to own around one million Bitcoins. These Bitcoins are believed to be held in several wallets that were mined during the early days of Bitcoin’s existence, starting in 2009.

The estimate is based on an analysis of the early blocks mined by Satoshi, which remain untouched to this day. These Bitcoins, worth billions of dollars at current prices, have never been moved or spent, leading to much speculation and mystery about the identity and intentions of Satoshi Nakamoto.

This large holding makes Satoshi one of the wealthiest individuals (or entities) in terms of Bitcoin ownership, although Satoshi’s precise amount and exact identity remain unconfirmed.

How many Bitcoins have been stolen?

As of 2024, it is estimated that around 1.2 million to 1.5 million Bitcoins have been stolen in various hacks, scams, and fraud incidents since Bitcoin’s inception. This figure includes high-profile incidents like the Mt. Gox hack in 2014, where around 850,000 Bitcoins were stolen, and other significant thefts from exchanges and individuals over the years.

These stolen Bitcoins represent a substantial portion of the total supply, and most of them remain unrecovered due to the difficulty of tracing and reversing transactions on the blockchain. The total amount is a rough estimate, as not all thefts are publicly reported or fully documented.

Some of the biggest Bitcoin hacks in history include:

1. Mt. Gox (2014)

• Amount stolen: Approximately 850,000 Bitcoins (worth around $450m at the time).
• Details: Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world at the time. It declared bankruptcy in 2014 after it was revealed that hackers had been siphoning Bitcoins from the exchange over several years due to poor security practices. The hack led to the loss of customer funds and the collapse of the exchange, significantly impacting the early Bitcoin community.

2. Bitfinex (2016)

• Amount stolen: Around 120,000 Bitcoins (worth approximately $72m at the time).
• Details: Bitfinex, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was hacked in 2016 when hackers exploited a vulnerability in the exchange’s multi-signature wallets. The stolen Bitcoins were later traced, and in 2022, a portion of the stolen funds was recovered, leading to the arrest of two individuals linked to the theft.

3. NiceHash (2017)

• Amount stolen: Around 4,700 Bitcoins (worth about $64m at the time).
• Details: NiceHash, a cryptocurrency mining marketplace, was hacked in December 2017. The attackers breached the company’s payment system and transferred all the Bitcoins stored in its wallet. This hack was significant as it occurred during the peak of the 2017 cryptocurrency bull run.

4. Coincheck (2018)

• Amount stolen: Although primarily involving NEM tokens, this hack also involved the theft of a significant amount of Bitcoins.
• Details: Coincheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked in January 2018, resulting in the theft of over $500m worth of NEM tokens and some Bitcoins. This hack raised concerns about the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and led to increased regulatory scrutiny in Japan.

5. Binance (2019)

• Amount stolen: About 7,000 Bitcoins (worth roughly $4m at the time).
• Details: In May 2019, Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was hacked, and the attackers were able to steal 7,000 Bitcoins. The hackers used a combination of phishing, viruses, and other attacks to gain access to Binance’s hot wallets. The exchange covered the losses with its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU).

How many Bitcoin miners are there?

Determining the exact number of Bitcoin miners is challenging because it varies constantly, depending on factors like Bitcoin’s price, mining difficulty, and electricity costs. However, we can estimate the number of miners based on the Bitcoin network’s hash rate, which measures the total computational power being used to mine and process transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Estimating the number of Bitcoin miners

• Hash rate: As of mid-2024, the Bitcoin network’s hash rate is over 400 exahashes per second (EH/s).
• Mining hardware: The most common Bitcoin mining hardware is the ASIC miner. A typical modern ASIC miner, like the Antminer S19, produces around 100 terahashes per second (TH/s).
• Estimated number of miners: By dividing the total network hash rate by the hash rate of a single ASIC miner, we can estimate the number of mining units:
  • Number of miners= (400 EH/s) / (100 EH/s) = four million ASICs

This calculation suggests that millions of ASIC mining units are active in the network. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean there are millions of individual miners, as large mining farms and pools operate many of these ASICs. The number of individual miners or mining entities is likely much lower.

Mining pools

Most Bitcoin miners join mining pools, where they combine their computational power to improve their chances of earning rewards. The top mining pools control significant portions of the network’s hash rate, and a relatively small number of pools dominate the industry.

In summary, while the exact number of individual Bitcoin miners is difficult to determine, the network is powered by millions of mining units spread across a large but concentrated group of mining entities and pools.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. 01.

   When will the last Bitcoin be mined?

   

   The last Bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140. This is due to the decreasing mining rewards through halving events that occur approximately every four years.

2. 02.

   What happens when all 21 million Bitcoins are mined?

   

   Once all 21 million Bitcoins are mined, no new Bitcoins will be created. Miners will then earn revenue solely from transaction fees, which are expected to become more significant as the block reward diminishes.

3. 03.

   How many Bitcoins will be mined before the next halving?

   

   Approximately 328,500 Bitcoins will be mined before the next halving, scheduled for around 2028. This estimate is based on the current block reward of 3.125 BTC per block, with around 144 blocks mined daily until the next halving.