New coins are constantly being created in the bitcoin network. A new bitcoin is created whenever a new block of transactions is added to the ledger. Each block is created through a process called mining. In mining, users solve a mathematical problem on a computer to complete blocks. Whoever completes the block first is given a new bitcoin and all associated transaction fees.
The 19 millionth bitcoin was mined at 16:21:29 (UTC) on 1 April on block 730002. The creator received 6.25 BTC as a reward and another 0.07 BTC in fees.
The 19,000,000th #bitcoin has been just been mined.
— Documenting Bitcoin ????? (@DocumentingBTC) April 1, 2022
The supply of bitcoin is limited at 21 million i.e. 20 million coins. This simply means that 90 percent of the bitcoin supply is currently in circulation. The remaining 20 lakh coins will not be fully in circulation until 2140. This is because the rate at which coins are produced is cut in half every 210,000th block.
The difficulty of mining bitcoins is adjusted regularly so that on average a block is created once every ten minutes. The rest of the cryptocurrencies do not work on this structure, in which the creator is rewarded in the form of coins.
For example, BNB is a net deflationary cryptocurrency that rewards its users purely in the form of transaction fees. In September 2020, 18,500,000 million bitcoins were mined. The coin issuance rate is currently 6.25 bitcoins per block.
When a miner receives a block, the coin issuance increases by 6.25 bitcoins per block. A block is found approximately every ten minutes. Now the next block reward halving is expected to happen on or around May 3, 2024. Miners will get 3.125 bitcoins per block after the next halving and the next halving will be in 2028.
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