Miners have already mined 90% of the maximum amount of bitcoins
As of December 13, almost 19 million coins have been mined, which is 90% of the maximum possible volume of 21 million. This limit is set in the code of the cryptocurrency itself and is a hard limit of issuance, which plays a key role in shaping its value and function as a means of savings. In recent years, it is this economic component that has attracted investors.
While it took miners a little more than 12 years to mine 9/10 of all possible coins, it will take 119 years to extract the remainder. This is due to another deflationary mechanism - halving.
The last halving took place in May 2020, reducing miners' remuneration from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. The mining rate will continue to gradually decrease. In 2040, it will drop to 0.195 BTC. By that time, only 80 thousand bitcoins out of 21 million will remain unmined, but it will take almost 40 years to get them.
