How Many Bitcoins Are There? Supply Data, Lost Coins, and the 21M Cap

How Many Bitcoins Are There? A Complete Supply Analysis

Bitcoin's supply is the most predictable of any monetary asset in history. Unlike fiat currencies (where central banks can print unlimited amounts) or gold (where production depends on mining economics), Bitcoin's supply schedule is hardcoded into its protocol and enforced by tens of thousands of nodes worldwide.

This page provides a comprehensive breakdown of Bitcoin's supply using real-time data from Onramp Terminal.

Current Bitcoin Supply Snapshot (February 2026)

Metric | Value

Maximum supply | 21,000,000 BTC

Total mined to date | ~19,821,000 BTC

Remaining to be mined | ~1,179,000 BTC

Percentage mined | 94.39%

Current block reward | 3.125 BTC

New BTC per day | ~450 BTC

New BTC per year | ~164,250 BTC

Current annual inflation rate | ~0.83%

Estimated lost/inaccessible | 3,000,000 - 4,000,000 BTC

Effective circulating supply | ~15,800,000 - 16,800,000 BTC

The 21 Million Hard Cap: Why It Matters

Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap is arguably its most important feature. Written into the very first line of Bitcoin's monetary policy, this cap ensures absolute scarcity, something no other monetary asset can claim.

How the 21 Million Cap Works

Bitcoin's supply schedule follows a geometric series. Starting with a block reward of 50 BTC, the reward halves every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years):

Period | Block Reward | Total BTC Created in Period

Blocks 0-209,999 | 50 BTC | 10,500,000

Blocks 210,000-419,999 | 25 BTC | 5,250,000

Blocks 420,000-629,999 | 12.5 BTC | 2,625,000

Blocks 630,000-839,999 | 6.25 BTC | 1,312,500

Blocks 840,000-1,049,999 | 3.125 BTC | 656,250

Blocks 1,050,000-1,259,999 | 1.5625 BTC | 328,125

... continues halving ... | ... | ...

**Total** | **20,999,999.9769 BTC**

The sum of this geometric series converges to just under 21 million. Due to the way Bitcoin handles decimal precision, the actual maximum supply is 20,999,999.9769 BTC.

Can the 21 Million Cap Be Changed?

Technically, Bitcoin's code is open source and could be modified. Practically, changing the supply cap would require consensus among:

• Node operators (tens of thousands worldwide)
• Miners (who secure the network)
• Developers (who maintain the code)
• Users and businesses (who give Bitcoin its value)

Any attempt to change the supply cap would result in a fork, with the unchanged version retaining the "Bitcoin" designation. Every economic incentive in the network aligns against inflation. This is why the 21 million cap is considered effectively immutable.

Bitcoin Supply Issuance Over Time

How Fast Is New Bitcoin Created?

After the April 2024 halving, 3.125 new BTC are created every block (approximately every 10 minutes). This means:

• Per hour: ~18.75 BTC
• Per day: ~450 BTC
• Per week: ~3,150 BTC
• Per month: ~13,500 BTC
• Per year: ~164,250 BTC

For comparison, before the 2024 halving, 900 BTC were created daily. After the next halving (~April 2028), only ~225 BTC will be created per day.

Supply Issuance Milestones

Percentage Mined | Approximate Date | Total BTC in Circulation

50% | November 2012 | 10,500,000

75% | July 2016 | 15,750,000

87.5% | May 2020 | 18,375,000

93.75% | April 2024 | 19,687,500

96.875% | ~April 2028 | 20,343,750

98.4% | ~2032 | 20,671,875

99.2% | ~2036 | 20,835,938

~100% | ~2140 | 20,999,999.9769

Over 96% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist has already been mined. The remaining ~4% will be distributed over the next 114 years.

Lost Bitcoin: The Shrinking Effective Supply

Not all mined Bitcoin is accessible. A significant portion is estimated to be permanently lost.

Categories of Lost Bitcoin

Category | Estimated BTC Lost | Notes

Early mined coins (non-Satoshi) | 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 | Coins mined 2009-2011 with no activity in 10+ years

Lost private keys | 800,000 - 1,200,000 | Hardware failures, forgotten passwords, deceased holders

Sent to burn addresses | ~50,000 | Provably unspendable addresses

Exchange hacks/losses | ~200,000 - 300,000 | Mt. Gox (portions), QuadrigaCX, other incidents

Dust/uneconomic UTXOs | ~100,000 | Amounts too small to spend given transaction fees

**Total estimated lost** | **3,000,000 - 4,000,000** | **14-19% of mined supply**

Notable Lost Bitcoin Cases

• James Howells: A Welsh IT worker who discarded a hard drive containing ~8,000 BTC in 2013. The hard drive is believed to be in a landfill in Newport, Wales. Worth over $800 million at current prices.
• Stefan Thomas: A programmer who lost the password to an IronKey containing 7,002 BTC. The device allows 10 password attempts before encrypting permanently; 8 have been used.
• QuadrigaCX: The Canadian exchange's founder, Gerald Cotten, died in 2018 with sole access to cold wallets containing ~26,000 BTC worth of customer assets.

The Shrinking Free Float

When you subtract lost coins, long-term holder supply (coins unmoved for 3+ years), and institutional/ETF holdings, the "free float" of Bitcoin available for active trading is remarkably small:

Category | Estimated BTC

Total mined | ~19,821,000

Minus: Estimated lost | -3,500,000 (midpoint)

Minus: ETF holdings | -1,124,000

Minus: Corporate treasuries | -600,000

Minus: Government holdings | -530,000

Minus: Long-term holder supply (3yr+) | -5,500,000

**Estimated free float** | **~8,567,000 BTC**

That means roughly 8.5 million BTC (40.8% of total supply) is actively circulating. Against this shrinking free float, ETFs alone are absorbing hundreds of BTC daily.

Bitcoin Inflation Rate vs. Other Assets

Bitcoin's annual inflation rate is now below 1% for the first time, making it the hardest money in existence by this measure.

Asset | Annual Supply Increase

Bitcoin (2024-2028) | ~0.83%

Gold | ~1.5-2.0%

Silver | ~1.5%

U.S. Dollar (M2 average) | ~7-8%

Euro (M3 average) | ~5-6%

After the 2028 halving, Bitcoin's inflation rate will drop to approximately 0.39%, less than one-quarter of gold's inflation rate.

What Happens When All Bitcoin Are Mined?

When the last Bitcoin is mined (around 2140), miners will earn revenue exclusively from transaction fees. This transition is already underway:

• In April 2024, during the Runes protocol launch, transaction fees exceeded block rewards for several days
• Lightning Network adoption reduces on-chain transactions but increases Bitcoin's utility
• Fee markets have functioned efficiently during periods of high demand

The security budget question (whether fees alone can sustain mining) is an active area of research, but the transition spans over a century, giving the market ample time to adapt.

Track Bitcoin Supply in Real Time

Onramp Terminal provides real-time supply data including: circulating supply, newly mined coins, exchange reserves, long-term holder supply changes, and dormant coin analysis. Understanding supply dynamics is essential for anyone allocating to Bitcoin.

For those building serious Bitcoin positions, Onramp's Multi-Institution Custody (MIC) distributes your holdings across BitGo, Coinbase, and Anchor Watch. With over $1 billion in assets under custody, Onramp provides the security infrastructure that matches Bitcoin's scarcity with custodial rigor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Bitcoins are there right now?

As of February 2026, approximately 19,821,000 Bitcoin have been mined, representing 94.39% of the maximum 21 million supply. New Bitcoin are created at a rate of approximately 450 BTC per day (3.125 BTC per block). However, an estimated 3-4 million BTC are considered permanently lost, making the effective circulating supply approximately 15.8-16.8 million.

How many Bitcoins are left to mine?

Approximately 1,179,000 BTC remain to be mined as of February 2026. At the current rate of ~164,250 BTC per year, and with the halving schedule reducing this rate every four years, the remaining Bitcoin will be distributed over the next ~114 years. The final Bitcoin will be mined around the year 2140.

Why is Bitcoin limited to 21 million?

The 21 million cap was set by Satoshi Nakamoto in Bitcoin's original code. It creates absolute digital scarcity. The cap is enforced by tens of thousands of nodes running Bitcoin software, and changing it would require overwhelming consensus from all network participants, which is economically irrational for any holder. The cap is effectively immutable because every stakeholder benefits from scarcity.

How many Bitcoins are lost forever?

An estimated 3 to 4 million BTC are considered permanently lost, representing 14-19% of all mined supply. This includes early-mined coins with no activity in over a decade, coins with lost private keys, hardware failures, and funds lost in exchange hacks. Notable cases include James Howells' landfilled hard drive (~8,000 BTC) and QuadrigaCX (~26,000 BTC).

What happens when all 21 million Bitcoin are mined?

When the last Bitcoin is mined around 2140, miners will be compensated entirely through transaction fees rather than block rewards. This transition is already underway, as transaction fees occasionally exceed block rewards during high-demand periods. The shift is extremely gradual: by 2036, over 99.6% of all Bitcoin will have been mined, leaving minimal block rewards for the remaining century.