in the latest Bitcoin news, If you're worried about how many bitcoin are left before the cryptocurrency hits its cap, do not worry - it is still a long way off.
Bitcoin and various altcoins such as Litecoin have a fixed, hard supply cap. This means only a certain number can enter circulation before the currency reaches its limits.
This is in contrast to the likes of Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu Coin, which do not have these hard caps.
So, while it may take a while for bitcoin to hit its cap, how many are left?
How many bitcoin are left in 2022?
As of August 2022, 19,124,681.00 BTC is in circulation, this means 1875319 BTC is left to mine.
However, a significant portion of bitcoin currently in circulation may have been lost forever through various means. According to Chainalysis, 3,700,000 BTC has not moved from its address in five years or more. The crypto-analysts deem this as a 'lost bitcoin'.
Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts speculate that Satoshi Nakamoto - bitcoin's founder and largest whale - may have lost their bitcoin.
Data breaches, hard drive failures, and misplaced keys led to or 20% of all circulating bitcoin sitting in wallets likely to never be accessed again.
As per Blockchain.com, nearly 18.999 million Bitcoins have been mined as of April 1, 2022, and the data show that the total mined BTC may soon reach 19,00,000.
Read More: Free Bitcoin Mining: Can I Mine Bitcoin For Free?
When will the last bitcoin be mined?
Of course, the amount of BTC not mined and yet to enter circulation is continuously growing smaller.
While 10% of BTC does not seem like much - especially given the 18 million that has already been mined - the final bitcoin will not be mined until approximately 7 May 2140.
This is due to a phenomena known as bitcoin halving. Every 210,000 blocks, the amount of bitcoin rewarded per block is halved.
Currently, rewards are 6.25 BTC per block following a halving in May 2020. When bitcoin first started, rewards were 50 BTC per block.
As a new halving occurs every four years, by 2032 each block will reward less than 1 BTC.
READ MORE: What Was The First Cryptocurrency Created Before Bitcoin?
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