One of the things you should know about bitcoin is that it is finite, i.e. the total supply of bitcoin is fixed. Among other things, this helps keep the bitcoin volatility in check and maintains a healthy demand in the market. At the same time, it also means that there is a limit on the maximum number of bitcoin that can ever be mined. What is this limit? And what happens when all bitcoins are mined? Read on to know.
What is the Max Supply of Bitcoin?
Max supply of a cryptocurrency refers to the maximum number of coins that will ever exist. For bitcoin, the max supply is limited to 21 million. In simple words, it means there can never be more than 21 million bitcoins in the world.
What is the current circulating supply of Bitcoin?
New bitcoin is created through a process called mining. At the time of writing this article, the total supply of Bitcoin, i.e. the number of bitcoins in circulation is 18,739,818 (source: coinmarketcap.com). This means over 18 million bitcoins have already been mined.
Bitcoins already mined - 18,739,818
BItcoin remaining to be mined - 2,260,182 (~ 2 million)
What happens when all bitcoins are mined?
A common question that bitcoin miners and investors alike have in mind is what will happen when all bitcoins are mined. Will there be no longer bitcoin mining? What will happen to bitcoin miners?
Well, the simple answer would be YES. Once all bitcoins (21 million) have been mined, there will be no more bitcoins to mine. But, that’s easier said than done.
With bitcoin mining rewards continuing to be halved every four years, there will be years before all bitcoins are mined. A rough estimation shows that the final bitcoin will not be mined until before the year 2140. That’s almost 120 years from now. That means none of the miners of our time has anything to worry about.
That said, how exactly will it impact the market and the currency users when all bitcoins have been mined and none is left to mine?
Here’s what happens when all bitcoins have been mined
The time it takes to mine all bitcoins will depend on a number of things, including the competition in bitcoin mining, the mining power, bitcoin’s use as a currency, etc.
Investors and market price will have a field day: When the last bitcoin is mined, that means there is no more bitcoin to mine. That means, there is no more supply, which means the price of bitcoin will eventually increase as the demand increases. If you still haven’t purchased bitcoin, what are you even waiting for? Create an account with Shiftal today.
Mining will continue to happen, only no new bitcoins will be mined. Miners will be paid from the transaction fees for verifying transactions involving existing bitcoins. Miners will continue to be of importance in order to keep the network secure.
So, should I buy Bitcoin now or wait for more time?
This is the best time to buy bitcoin. Why? Because the market is currently down. The price of bitcoin has dropped by almost 100% from its year-high. And since the price of bitcoin will only go up after all the coins have been mined, you shouldn’t even think about it. Just go ahead and buy some bitcoin to secure your future.
The best way to buy Bitcoin is the Shiftal P2P exchange, where you can buy bitcoin directly from other users by using any of the available 70+ payment options. Yes, you heard it right. You can use your local fiat currency and payment methods like cash, bank transfer and cards to buy Bitcoin on Shital.