Bitcoin has crossed another historic threshold. Data shows that 20 million BTC have now been mined, leaving just one million coins left to enter circulation out of the network’s hard cap of 21 million.
According to Glassnode, reaching this milestone took 6,267 days since Bitcoin’s genesis block in January 2009. The remaining supply, however, will take significantly longer to produce due to the protocol’s programmed scarcity model.
Under Bitcoin’s current issuance schedule, the final BTC is expected to be mined around 2140. This means the last million coins will take roughly 114 years to be created.
The milestone underscores Bitcoin’s design as a finite digital asset, with supply growth slowing over time through periodic block reward halvings.
Bitcoin’s network growth accelerated faster than supply issuance
While Bitcoin’s supply has expanded gradually, on-chain data suggests network adoption and activity have grown much faster.
Glassnode’s milestone data highlights how quickly the network reached various 20-million-level activity thresholds compared to the time required to mine 20 million BTC.
For instance:
- 20 million transactions occurred after 1,636 days
- 20 million addresses created took 1,756 days
- 20 million addresses with a non-zero balance took about 3,197 days
- 20 million monthly active addresses emerged after 3,248 days
By contrast, the supply milestone required 6,267 days, reflecting Bitcoin’s intentionally slow issuance schedule.
This divergence illustrates a key feature of the network’s economic model: demand and activity can grow quickly. At the same time, supply expansion remains fixed and predictable.
Miner selling pressure remains subdued
Despite recent volatility in crypto markets, on-chain indicators suggest Bitcoin miners are not aggressively selling their holdings.
Data from CryptoQuant’s Miners’ Position Index [MPI] shows the metric currently sits around -1.6, indicating that BTC transfers from miners to exchanges are below historical averages.
The MPI tracks miner outflows relative to their yearly average. Negative readings typically signal that miners are holding rather than distributing coins, which can reduce short-term sell pressure in the market.
This behavior comes as Bitcoin trades near $68,000, following a period of broader market weakness across major cryptocurrencies.
Scarcity narrative strengthens as supply nears its limit
With over 95% of Bitcoin’s total supply now mined, the network is entering a phase where new issuance becomes increasingly limited.
Each halving event cuts block rewards in half, gradually reducing the number of new coins entering circulation. As a result, the remaining supply will be distributed more slowly over the next century.
For many investors, the combination of fixed supply and expanding network usage remains central to Bitcoin’s long-term value proposition.
Final Summary
- Bitcoin has reached a historic milestone with 20 million BTC mined, leaving just one million coins to be issued over the next century.
- On-chain data suggests miner selling pressure remains low, even as Bitcoin trades near $68K amid broader market volatility.
