Bitcoin Surpasses 20 Million Supply Mark in Heavily Front-Loaded Distribution Curve
Bitcoin has reached an important milestone in its issuance schedule, crossing the 20 million supply mark. This achievement comes after roughly 17 years since the genesis block was produced in January 2009 and marks the point where more than 95.2% of Bitcoin's fixed 21 million coin cap has been issued.
The remaining one million coins will be released over a period of more than a century, as successive halvings slow output to a near standstill. The distribution curve is heavily front-loaded, with the first 20 million coins taking 17 years to mine, compared to the remaining one million which will emerge over more than a century.
The latest halving in April 2024 reduced the block reward from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin, lowering average daily output from 900 Bitcoin to around 450 Bitcoin. The next halving is estimated for April 11, 2028. Kraken Global Economist Thomas Perfumo noted that 'this programmable scarcity, coupled with predictable issuance and decentralized design, is what sets Bitcoin apart from competing forms of money and asset classes.'