👩🍳 How we use AI at Tech in Asia, thoughtfully and responsibly.
🧔♂️ A friendly human may check it before it goes live. More news here
🧔♂️ A friendly human may check it before it goes live. More news here
Bitcoin supply approaches 20 million milestone
Bitcoin is nearing 20 million coins in circulation, with 19,996,979 BTC mined, according to the Clark Moody Dashboard.
At current issuance of roughly 450 BTC per day, the milestone is about seven days away.
Crossing 20 million would leave about 1 million BTC still to be mined, and mean over 95% of the protocol’s 21 million cap is in circulation.
Halvings have slowed new issuance, and at current rates, 99% of Bitcoin’s total supply is projected to be mined by January 2035.
The last full Bitcoin is expected around 2105, with fractional issuance continuing until about 2140, and miners will then rely on transaction fees for revenue.
🔗 Source: CoinDesk
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Wall Street demand shifts the scarcity story
- Bitcoin supply keeps tightening, with 19,996,979 BTC mined and about 450 BTC added per day as circulation nears 20 million.
- A Glassnode report put total assets under management (AUM) across all U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at a record $137 billion, equal to 6.4% of Bitcoin’s market cap at the time 1.
- One analysis estimated these ETFs could lift prices 74% in the first year, reshaping trading as Bitcoin nears the last 1 million coins of its 21 million cap 2.
- BlackRock’s IBIT ETF held about 97% of total open interest across Bitcoin ETF options, according to Glassnode 1.
Miners adjust as the subsidy shrinks
- Halvings slow new coin issuance, so mining revenue leans more on transaction fees over time.
- Fees need to cover more of the gap left by the block subsidy (the new coins miners earn for adding a block to the blockchain), yet fee income swings and often sits low 3.
- Some bitcoin mining companies now sell energy services, including demand-response-style strategies (cutting electricity use during peak demand) to earn extra revenue.
- Others refit sites for AI computing by using existing power gear to run graphics processing units (GPUs), including Core Scientific’s 12-year, $3.5 billion hosting deal with AI firm CoreWeave 4.
