What Happens When All Bitcoins Are Mined?

If you are a little familiar with the most famous crypto, you probably know that the supply of bitcoins is limited to $21 million. This means that there will never be more bitcoins in the world than the above mentioned amount. So decided the self-named Satoshi Nakamoto, the author of the first coin, and his decision cannot be changed. Therefore, some are wondering “What happens when all the bitcoins are mined?”

Let’s try to calculate when all 21 million BTC coins will be in circulation and no new coins will be minted. And how it will affect miners, investors and the market as a whole. 

What is Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining is the verification of transactions made with BTC coins on the blockchain network, resulting in new tokens. Sounds difficult? Then we’ll take you through it step by step.

Transactions are financial operations, i.e. transfers of funds. For example, when you transfer a few bitcoins to your friend, this is a transaction. Such an operation in the field of cryptocurrencies cannot be performed just like that. In order for the transfer to be carried out, the transaction must be confirmed. This is exactly what miners do. And the process of confirming transactions is called mining.

Transaction confirmation is the entry of data about this operation into a new block. As soon as the data is entered, the transaction will be completed (i.e., the transfer will be completed). When a new block is generated, new bitcoins are released into circulation. 

Each block is generated by calculating a special key, called a hash. This key is designed to protect the contents of the block (i.e. transaction data). The essence of mining is finding this very key, by cracking a very complex mathematical equation. It is not an easy task, but whoever finds the key first receives a reward in BTC coins, which the initiator of a transaction pledges as a fee.

Of course, miners would like to see bitcoin mining continue. Especially in view of the expensive hardware and software they had to invest in to start mining digital gold. But this way of earning won’t be available forever, so it gets interesting what happens to miners when all bitcoins are mined.

How Many Bitcoins Are There?

As mentioned earlier, Bitcoin is limited to 21,000,000 and not all coins have been mined yet. Satoshi Nakamoto intentionally set a limit to create a shortage, because, as you know, a shortage creates demand, and demand drives up the price. Here one can observe similarities with physical gold, the supply of which is also not unlimited, which gives this asset anti-inflationary properties.

In total, 19,277,981 BTC were mined; the same number of coins are in circulation at the time of this writing. This means that in order to reach the limit, there are much fewer coins left to mine compared to the amount already mined.

How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Mine?

If you have read the previous section, then it remains to do a simple calculation and you will be able to find out how many bitcoins are left to mine. Okay, we’ll do it for you, in case you hate math.

If Bitcoin is limited to 21,000,000 and 19,277,981 BTC have already been mined, then there are only 1,722,019 BTC left to be mined.

What happens when supply runs out?

As we have already learned, there are not so many BTS coins left that should go into circulation. Therefore, the question arises “What happens when all 21 million bitcoins are mined?” Let’s find out how reaching the limit set by Nakamoto will affect everyone who has somehow connected their lives with this crypto.

Impact on Miners

As we know, miners are rewarded in bitcoins for verifying transactions and adding new blocks, as a result of which new coins are minted. Their pay is halved every four years. In 2012, it was 25 BTC, in 2016 – 12.5 BTC, and today miners receive only 6.25 BTC for each new block. In a year, it should be halved again.

This is not very nice, especially since mining requires large expenses for electricity, powerful equipment that costs a lot of money and special software. And of course, in order to have those who want to do it, mining must be profitable and exceed the costs at times.

In many ways, the benefit is determined by the value of Bitcoin. Let’s say in 2016, when the value of one coin was $600, miners earned 12.5 BTC, which was $7,500 in total. In 2021, the miner’s reward was 6.25 BTC, but bitcoin itself was worth tens of thousands, so a miner at the peak of the token value could earn more than $400,000.

So what happens when all of the bitcoins are mined? The answer is simple: miners will not receive bitcoins for producing new blocks. At that time, they will receive a transaction confirmation fee. Of course, this will affect the profit margin. However, if the value of bitcoin is high and the miner confirms enough transactions, the fees will have to cover the costs and the missing block reward.

Impact on Market Price and Investment

If for miners the limited supply of BTC means the end of a mining career, then for Bitcoin itself and investors, this means excellent prospects. Since this circumstance makes the token a more scarce object, it will cause a lot of demand, and with it, an increase in the price. 

Since Bitcoin is very volatile, like other cryptocurrencies, investors can benefit from price fluctuations. If the demand is so great, it will not be difficult to find those who want to buy crypto even at a high rate.

Where Can You Buy Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the most widespread crypto, so it can be bought almost anywhere online on crypto exchanges, through P2P and exchange services, and even in the real world at Bitcoin ATMs.

When Will Bitcoin Run Out?

Determining exactly when Bitcoin will reach its maximum limit is difficult. But given that approximately every four years the number of issued bitcoins per block is halved, it can be estimated that the last coin, or rather a fraction of bitcoin – satoshi, will be generated by 2140. Therefore, modern miners, most likely, don’t have to worry about losing their jobs due to production shutdowns.

Conclusion

Achieving Bitcoin supply will have certain consequences for miners, investors and the crypto market in general. However the current generation should not worry too much about what will happen after all Bitcoins are mined. Since this will most likely happen in 2140, it is better to worry about the Bitcoin growth and its blockchain development for now.

FAQ

How Many Bitcoins Have Been Mined?

At the time of writing, 19,277,981 BTC have been mined, which is 91.80% of the maximum supply.

How Long Does it Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin?

A new block is generated in 10 minutes. At the moment, 6.25 bitcoins are mined for each block, which means that one bitcoin is mined in 0.625 minutes.

How Much Will Bitcoin Be Worth Once It’s All Mined?

Nobody knows the answer to this question. However, reaching the supply of Bitcoin will create a shortage, which in turn will create demand. This means more people will be looking to have digital gold in their portfolios. Such a hype will contribute to the growth of the value of Bitcoin.

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that the content of this article is not financial or investing advice. The information provided is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as direct recommendations for trading or investment. Any article reader or website visitor should consider multiple viewpoints and become familiar with all local regulations before cryptocurrency investment. We do not make any warranties about reliability and accuracy of this information.