As of today, August 1, Bitcoin has 85% of its supply in circulation. This means there are only 3.15 million new coins left to be mined for the next 120 years.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $10,044 USD according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin Supply

Data from monitoring resource Blockchain said that earlier today, Bitcoin miners extracted the “17,850,000th unit as part of the transaction validation process.”

Now, because the number of coins awarded per block decreases over time, Cointelegraph says, “the remaining supply will only be unlocked in the year 2140.”

Bitcoin’s entire supply is fixed at 21 million units.

The fear surrounding the lack of coins has already started. Comments on Twitter include one from the prominent crypto trading account, Rhythm, who said: “Scarcity is about to kick in.”

Now, the current supply means a maximum of 17,850,000 people can own an entire Bitcoin coin. But Cointelegraph furthers on this:

“In reality, however, some of the existing mined supply is not in circulation and never will be, as users lose access to private keys.”

Bitcoin Mining Competition Heats Up

There is something called “the halvening” on the horizon for Bitcoin. This is an event written into Bitcoin’s code that cuts all mining rewards in half. The halvening is expected in 2020, and when it does, it will, effectively, diminish supply. As with anything, as supply goes down, demand and price tend to go up, and we can argue that Bitcoin is no different.

>> Bitcoin Mining Manufacturer Canaan Files for IPO in US Worth $200 Million

So it’s likely that miners and investors will begin hoarding as much Bitcoin as possible now before the halvening occurs and supply is lessened. The halvening will reduce miner payouts from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC per block.

What do you think about Bitcoin supply hitting 85%? Does it concern you? Will a “scarcity” fear hit the market?

Let us know your thoughts!