Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million BTC, a limit that is integral to its value as a deflationary asset. By May 2025, around 19.6 million BTC had been mined, leaving about 1.4 million BTC to be mined slowly due to the halving event that reduces block rewards every four years. This means that while over 93% of Bitcoin's supply has been mined, a significant portion is lost permanently, estimated between 3.0 million and 3.8 million BTC. Unlike gold, which can be remelted, lost Bitcoin cannot be recovered, leading to a gradual decrease in available supply. Bitcoin's mining system is resilient; it adjusts difficulty based on the number of miners, ensuring network security even as rewards diminish. As mining becomes less profitable, miners exit, causing difficulty to decrease, which maintains the network's stability. The shift towards renewable energy sources for mining is also notable, with a significant portion of Bitcoin mining now utilizing low-emission energy, reflecting a trend towards sustainability. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news