Tomorrow the 18 millionth Bitcoin will be mined

That's right, tomorrow an important milestone will be reached on the bitcoin blockchain.

Tomorrow afternoon, the 18th millionth bitcoin will be mined.

We are at 17,997,538 currently.

(Source: https://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/)

Why is that significant you may be wondering?

Well, that means there are only 3 million left to be mined, ever, as the supply is capped at 21 million units.

Cool, the rate of production seems to be slowing down though, no?

It is!

It took us just over 10 years to reach 18 million bitcoins, but it will take roughly another 120 years for the last 3 million coins to be mined.

This is due to the halving process, which cuts the number of bitcoin produced each block in half.

The next halving event is slated to take place in May of next year.

At that point the number of bitcoin produced/rewarded each block will fall from 12.5 to 6.25.

That will put the overall yearly inflation rate below 2% for the first time ever.

That is significant in that the target inflation rate of the USD is 2% per year. That means for the first time ever, bitcoin's yearly inflation rate will likely be below that of the USD.

But wait, ol digital gold gets even more interesting...

Also interesting to note, bitcoin's inflation rate will likely will be below gold's average supply inflation rate as well after the next halving:

(Source: http://openmarkets.cmegroup.com/14922/how-much-does-supply-and-demand-influence-gold)

Though, that one is interesting because the supply rate changes in gold are very much tied to prices.

Meaning that when prices are higher, new production comes online and more gold is produced, and conversely, when prices fall less supply comes online.

There are not really 18 million coins in circulation

Even though we will have mined a total of 18 million coins, significantly less are actually in circulation.

Depending on which estimates you subscribe to, there could be as much as 30% of the total supply "lost" or inaccessible at this time.

That would equate to roughly 5 million coins total that are likely to never enter circulation, and due to the way bitcoin works, more coins are lost or become inaccessible just about every week.

Will you be celebrating Happy 18 Millionth Bitcoin Day tomorrow?

Stay informed my friends.

Image Source:

https://busy.org/@jrcornel/crypto-is-the-party-about-to-begin-again

-Doc