The 20 millionth Bitcoin has just been mined, leaving fewer than one million coins left to be released. The network continues its steady, scheduled issuance toward its hard-coded cap of 21 million coins, after which no new Bitcoin will ever be created.
This milestone highlights how Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, combined decades of computer science research to create digital scarcity— a groundbreaking feature at the heart of the value of the number one cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Nears Maximum Supply With 20 Million Coin Milestone
The pie is shrinking.
CloverPool’s on-chain data shows that the Bitcoin network mined its 20 millionth coin on March 9, 2026. Since the Genesis block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009, it has taken exactly 17 years, 2 months, and one week for the network to reach this landmark.
The 20 million BTC milestone was hit at block height 939,999, mined by the Foundry USA pool, according to Mempool data — marking a key moment in Bitcoin’s blockchain history.
This milestone means that over 95.24% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply is now in circulation. To put it in perspective, for every 20 Bitcoins already mined, just one remains to be released.
The next 1 million Bitcoins will be mined at a gradually slower pace due to block reward halvings, which happen every 210,000 blocks— or about every four years— cutting the new supply in half each time.
At today’s mining pace, roughly 450 new Bitcoins are added to the network each day. With only 1 million Bitcoins remaining to be mined, the final coin is expected to be produced in 2140.
What Next?
Although more than 95% of Bitcoin’s total supply has been mined, not all of it is accessible. A sizable amount is permanently lost due to forgotten passwords, lost wallets, destroyed hard drives, or early adopters who never moved their coins again.
At present, miners receive 3.125 newly minted BTC per block following the most recent halving on April 20, 2024, along with transaction fees, which typically add less than 1 BTC. The next Bitcoin halving is scheduled for April 11, 2028, when the block reward will drop to 1.5625 BTC.
Once all Bitcoins have been mined, miners will earn only from transaction fees, paid by users to move coins across the blockchain. Some worry that removing block rewards and transitioning to a purely transaction-fee-based model could challenge Bitcoin’s current incentive structure that helps secure the network.
Bitcoin Price Shows Signs of Life Amid Momentous Milestone
Bitcoin hit this historic supply milestone amid ongoing market turbulence, as the crypto sector continues to respond to macroeconomic and geopolitical events, including the US-Iran conflict.
Bitcoin was trading just shy of $70,654 at press time, up 4.64% over the past 24 hours, according to data from crypto price aggregator CoinGecko. The apex crypto Bitcoin has shown surprising resilience despite the extreme volatility in traditional assets.
However, BTC still trades 44.4% below its all-time high of $126,080, reached in October 2025.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/history-made-the-20-millionth-bitcoin-has-just-been-mined-just-1-million-left-why-it-matters/
