How many bitcoins are already in circulation on the market?

93% of all bitcoins that will ever exist have already been mined. 

On July 1, 2024, the supply of Bitcoin in circulation reached 93,81%, with a total of 19.719.542 bitcoins mined to date, as reflected by block explorer data Blockchain.com. 

Bitcoin has a limited supply of approximately 21 million coins. To be more exact, the total number of bitcoins that will ever exist will be 20.999.999,9993 BTC, as established in its protocol. 

In this way, the 19.719.542 BTC already mined represent 93,81% of all bitcoins that will ever exist on the market, leaving only the 6,19%, or 1.280.458 units of cryptocurrency to be mined of the network. 

However, despite these numbers, Bitcoin mining is still a long way from being over. 

A perfect design: the halving and the issuance of Bitcoin

Bitcoin units enter circulation at a certain rate, which is established in the cryptocurrency protocol and, according to this, The last unit of Bitcoin will be mined from the network in the year 2140, approximately. 

Therefore, the remaining 6,19% of bitcoins to be mined will be extracted from the network over the next 117 years. 

The halving, the block reward halving event that miners receive, plays a key role in the amount of bitcoins put into circulation, as it decreases, over time, the amount of BTC that is issued on the network. 

The Bitcoin halving took place in April 2024, reducing the current block reward to 3,125 BTC. 

During the period of this halving, the fourth to occur on the blockchain network, around 656.250 units of the cryptocurrency will be issued. This contrasts with the number of bitcoins that were issued during the period of the first halving, when 10,5 million BTC entered circulation. That is why, with each halving, the issuance of bitcoins is reduced and, therefore, the number of units that enter circulation. 

Thanks to this event that halves the block reward, Bitcoiners and the crypto community can have “monetary certainty” that no bank can offer, said content creator and Bitcoin enthusiast Juan Rodriguez on his social media.

Bitcoin reached this new milestone one day after celebrating the 15th anniversary of the publication of its whitepaper and amid a wave of optimism over the possible approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States, which has earned it greater recognition among investors and society in general and which is undoubtedly synonymous with its incredible development and progress.