How Many Total Bitcoins Are There?
To understand the circulating supply of Bitcoin, it is important to go right back to the beginning. Put simply, when Bitcoin was launched in 2009, it was created with a fixed supply mechanism.
On average, new BTC tokens enter circulation every 10 minutes. The exact block time can vary depending on network conditions. But it has averaged to 10-minute cycles over time.
So why does this matter? Well, every time a new block of transactions is confirmed, the circulating supply increases, as more BTC is minted to reward miners. Currently, this amounts to 3.125 new Bitcoins for every block.
Previously, this stood at 6.25 BTC. And before that, 12.5 BTC, 25 BTC, and 50 BTC, respectively. The reason the supply rate changes is due to the ‘Bitcoin halving‘.
