There are about 1.0 to 1.1 million Bitcoins left to mine out of a total maximum supply of 21 million, with roughly 19.9 million already in circulation as of late 2025/early 2026. The final Bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140, with new coins entering circulation through mining, which slows down as rewards are cut in half periodically.
It's estimated that all bitcoins will be mined by 2140, at which point the last block reward will be released. If a Bitcoin is lost or destroyed, it cannot be recovered, which can decrease the total supply of Bitcoins and increase their overall value.
What Will Happen When the Last Bitcoin Is Mined? The last Bitcoin is expected to be mined by the year 2140. After mining has been completed, no new bitcoins will be issued into the market. The miners will then rely on transaction fees to validate transactions and maintain the blockchain.
It is projected that the last bitcoin will be mined somewhere around the year 2140. It is never easy to predict the future but it can be said that there are some implications of this milestone for Bitcoin's network, miners, users, and the broader cryptocurrency landscape.
Price projections for Bitcoin in 2030
British bank Standard Chartered projects that Bitcoin's price will reach $500,000 in 2030.
5 years ago: If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2020, your investment would be worth $9,689. 10 years ago: If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2015, your investment would be worth $496,927. 15 years ago: If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2010, your investment would be worth about $1.62 billion.
If history is any guide, Bitcoin could be on pace to hit $1 million by 2035. During the past decade, Bitcoin (BTC +0.71%) has been the top-performing asset in the world, and it hasn't even been close. In fact, in five of those years (2016, 2017, 2020, 2023, and 2024), Bitcoin posted triple-digit percentage returns.
If you had purchased $20 in Bitcoin in 2009, you would have bought around 20,000 Bitcoins. Based on today's value, those 20,000 Bitcoin would be valued at nearly $2 Billion.
In a groundbreaking transaction on May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made history by purchasing two Papa John's pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin, marking the first real-world commercial use of the cryptocurrency. At the time, the Bitcoin were worth a mere $41.
Bitcoin's real circulating supply is lower than the mined total, since a large percentage has been permanently lost through forgotten keys, hardware failures, or lack of estate planning. Unlike fiat money in a bank, if you lose access to your private keys, those coins are gone forever.
Bitcoin mining can be a lucrative way to make money with Bitcoin, but not for individual investors. Because of the computing power required, the upfront and ongoing costs can far outpace mining rewards earned.
Crypto is a high-risk investment. The value of crypto is very volatile, often fluctuating by huge amounts within a short period.
After years of criticizing bitcoin's high energy consumption, Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have changed his viewpoint. As Decrypt reported, Musk recently praised bitcoin's energy use and wrote in a social media post that its value is tied to the impossibility of faking energy.
In July 2022, Tesla quietly dumped roughly 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, worth about $936 million, during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty and market stress.
Bitcoin is held by over 100 million people, yet just 94 wallets control more than 10,000 BTC each. Meanwhile, 80% of crypto users want to spend it on daily purchases, not just hold it.
“If you've ever made a costly investment decision, spare a thought for Laszlo Hanyecz. You may not have heard of him, but in 2010 he spent 10,000 Bitcoins on two pizzas, in the first recorded 'real world' crypto transaction.
Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. In the beginning, nobody took Bitcoin very seriously. In fact, a computer programmer spent 10,000 BTC to buy two Papa John's pizzas on May 24, 2010, when the asset was worth $0.0041 only.
On May 22, 2010, the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin occurred when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John's pizzas for ₿10,000, in what would later be celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day".
Does Bitcoin belong in your portfolio? Bitcoin is a risky investment with obvious high volatility, and generally should be considered only if you have a high risk tolerance, are in a strong financial position already and can afford to lose some or all of your investment.
Bitcoin's price finally broke through the US$1 mark in 2011, and moved as high as US$29.60 that year. However, in 2012 Bitcoin pulled back and remained relatively muted. Bitcoin's price saw its first significant growth in earnest in 2013, the year it broke through both US$100 and US$1,000.
In early April 2013, the price per bitcoin dropped from $266 to around $50 and then rose to around $100. Over two weeks starting late June 2013 the price dropped steadily to $70. The price began to recover, peaking once again on 1 October at $140.
This bill provides for the acquisition and storage of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin by the U.S. government. The Department of the Treasury must purchase one million Bitcoins over a five-year period and hold the Bitcoins in trust for the United States.
Edward Hadad, a financial planner at Financial Asset Management Corp., recommends that speculative assets like crypto or gold should not exceed more than 5% of a person's portfolio, regardless of market conditions.
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick revises his year-end Bitcoin forecast to $100,000 from $200,000 by late 2025. Kendrick maintains a long-term Bitcoin forecast of $500,000, now expected by 2030 instead of 2028.