[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Bitcoin (BTC) mined supply has surpassed 20 million BTC, putting 95.2 percent of the total issuance of 21 million into the market. It marks a historic milestone about 17 years after the first block was created in January 2009.

On March 10 (all times local), blockchain media outlet CoinPost reported that Foundry USA, the largest mining company in the United States, reached the milestone by mining the 939,999th block. Total bitcoin issued has now reached 20,001,875 BTC, and the remaining supply has fallen to less than 1 million BTC.

Bitcoin follows a halving structure in which mining rewards are cut in half every 4 years under a protocol designed by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto (사토시 나카모토). After the fourth halving on April 20, 2024, the block reward shrank to 3.125 BTC from 6.25 BTC, and daily new supply also fell to 450 BTC from 900 BTC.

As supply continues to tighten, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hold bitcoin worth $86 billion, about 6.3 percent of total supply. Bitcoin balances on exchanges have also fallen to around 2.4 million BTC, and the amount permanently lost due to lost wallets and hardware is estimated at 3 million to 4 million BTC.

The next halving is expected around April 11, 2028, and the same structure is seen repeating on a roughly 4-year cycle thereafter. As halving events accumulate and mining rewards keep shrinking, the point at which the remaining 1 million BTC is fully released to the market is projected to be around 2140.

Some in the market say the fact that more than 95 percent of bitcoin issuance has already been mined could highlight its scarcity. With institutional inflows through ETFs continuing and exchange holdings declining, the amount actually available for circulation could shrink faster and increase supply-demand pressure, according to the analysis.

Others point out that a price rise is not automatically guaranteed by supply declines alone. With external variables such as macroeconomic conditions, interest rates, the regulatory environment and selling flows by miners still having a large impact, how strongly scarcity in the remaining 1 million BTC will act as a price factor will likely depend on whether demand persists.