How Much Bitcoin Is Left to Mine
Learn how much bitcoin is left to mine, how the halving schedule caps total supply, and how many coins remain unissued at the current block height.
By Jonathan West · Updated November 15, 2026
About 887,728 bitcoin remain to be issued under the protocol rules, leaving roughly 4.2 percent of the 21 million cap unmined.
Understanding the remaining bitcoin supply shows how programmatic halving events reduce new issuance over time until block subsidies stop around the year 2140.
Category
Crypto term
Difficulty
Beginner
Where you'll see it
Block explorers, halving coverage, supply discussions
First introduced
Fixed in Bitcoin's protocol rules, with a halving every 210,000 blocks
About how much bitcoin is left
About 887,728 bitcoin remain to be issued as of 15 November 2026 at block height 975,926. In our internal modeling, we computed bitcoin issuance block by block from the protocol rules using a 50 BTC starting subsidy that halves every 210,000 blocks. That calculation leaves roughly 4.2 percent of the maximum supply left to enter circulation between now and roughly the year 2140.
How it actually works
Bitcoin issuance operates on fixed math written directly into the protocol rules. Every 210,000 blocks, the block subsidy (the newly created bitcoin paid per block) drops by exactly half.
Because the network targets a 10 minute block interval, each 210,000-block window lasts approximately four years. The difficulty adjustment mechanism recalibrates every 2,016 blocks to maintain that pace regardless of total network computing power. Across each halving epoch, the total quantity of new coins issued per block shrinks predictably. In epoch 0, miners generated 10,500,000 coins. In epoch 1, that volume fell to 5,250,000 coins, followed by 2,625,000 coins in epoch 2 and 1,312,500 coins in epoch 3.
We are currently in epoch 4, which began following the April 2024 halving. In this epoch, each block yields exactly 3.125 new coins. Fractional satoshis do not exist, so the subsidy integer right-shifts until it reaches zero satoshis after block 6,929,999. This mathematical design sets a strict ceiling of slightly less than 21 million coins.
How Much Bitcoin Is Left to Mine
To determine how much bitcoin is left, we subtract the coins created through the current block height from the maximum protocol cap. At block height 975,926 on 15 November 2026, miners have produced 20,112,271.875 coins out of a total possible 20,999,999.9769 coins. That leaves 887,728.1019 unissued coins remaining.
Our calculation uses the block height confirmed simultaneously by mempool.space and blockstream.info at 08:24 UTC on 15 November 2026. Because each block adds exactly 3.125 coins during this epoch, the unmined total decreases with every newly confirmed block. The protocol ceiling sits slightly below 21 million because whole-satoshi rounding discards sub-satoshi fractions at each halving step.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Coins issued so far | 20,112,271.875 BTC |
| Maximum issuance under protocol rules | 20,999,999.9769 BTC |
| Remaining coins to be issued | 887,728.1019 BTC |
How Issuance Follows the Halving Schedule
The rate at which new coins enter circulation halves at predetermined intervals of 210,000 blocks. Each era of 210,000 blocks cuts the per-block reward in half, generating an issuance curve that flattens over time.
The Bitcoin network is currently operating in epoch 4, having crossed block 840,000 in April 2024 to reduce the subsidy to 3.125 coins. Epoch 4 concludes at block 1,049,999, with the next halving occurring at block 1,050,000. At our snapshot height of 975,926, the network sits 74,074 blocks away from block 1,050,000. Readers tracking this progression can consult our guide to the next Bitcoin halving date for timing expectations. Cumulative issuance at the end of epoch 3 totaled 19,687,500 coins, matching the figures published by the Bitcoin Wiki.
| Epoch | Block range | Subsidy (BTC per block) | Issued in epoch (BTC) | Cumulative (BTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 to 209,999 | 50 | 10,500,000 | 10,500,000 |
| 1 | 210,000 to 419,999 | 25 | 5,250,000 | 15,750,000 |
| 2 | 420,000 to 629,999 | 12.5 | 2,625,000 | 18,375,000 |
| 3 | 630,000 to 839,999 | 6.25 | 1,312,500 | 19,687,500 |
| 4 | 840,000 to 1,049,999 | 3.125 | 656,250 | 20,343,750 |
| 5 | 1,050,000 to 1,259,999 | 1.5625 | 328,125 | 20,671,875 |
| 6 | 1,260,000 to 1,469,999 | 0.78125 | 164,062.5 | 20,835,937.5 |
| 7 | 1,470,000 to 1,679,999 | 0.390625 | 82,031.25 | 20,917,968.75 |
| 8 | 1,680,000 to 1,889,999 | 0.1953125 | 41,015.625 | 20,958,984.375 |
| 9 | 1,890,000 to 2,099,999 | 0.09765625 | 20,507.8125 | 20,979,492.1875 |
Mined Is Not the Same as Spendable
The total volume of mined coins does not equal the amount of spendable bitcoin in active circulation. Theoretical supply represents an upper bound on creation rather than an inventory of accessible tokens. Accidental loss, willful destruction, and protocol technicalities permanently remove coins from circulating availability.
The initial 50 coins minted in the genesis block cannot be spent because the transaction was never added to the global database. In block 124,724, a miner underpaid the reward by a single satoshi, representing one of two known reductions in total mined supply. Beyond protocol anomalies, users lose access when private keys are forgotten or destroyed. Because the odds of randomly finding a matching private key are generally considered impossible, unrecoverable keys lock those balances permanently on-chain.
Nobody can measure the precise number of permanently lost coins exactly. Readers should treat the calculated remainder strictly as future issuance to come under the code, rather than an absolute measure of circulating liquid supply.
When the Last Bitcoin Is Mined
The final fraction of a bitcoin will be mined around the year 2140 under standard block interval assumptions. Setting an exact calendar date or specific year remains impossible because mining difficulty adjusts across 2,016-block intervals to keep the block creation pace near 10 minutes. If hashpower had remained perfectly flat from block zero, the final block would fall near 8 October 2140. Assuming constant hashpower from block 367,500 onward places the event closer to 7 May 2140.
Block 6,929,999 is the last block scheduled to yield a new block subsidy. Following that block, the subsidy drops to zero satoshis, completing the minting phase. Readers curious about how miners secure the network can read how Bitcoin mining works for an operational breakdown.
Once block issuance reaches zero, mining compensation transitions entirely to network fees. A miner's block reward consists of newly created coins plus the transaction fees paid by senders. When issuance stops, miners will obtain income only from transaction fees.
Our Takeaway on Bitcoin Supply
A hard limit of slightly under 21 million coins governs the Bitcoin monetary system, leaving roughly 887,728 coins to be mined after block 975,926. This remaining unmined pool will shrink at progressively slower rates across future halving epochs. Because lost keys and technical quirks permanently strand existing balances, actual spendable coins remain lower than the cumulative mined total.
This distribution model can change only if network participants agree to alter the consensus rules. Our findings rest on internal protocol modeling evaluated on 15 November 2026, using the block height read from mempool.space and blockstream.info. To see how much bitcoin is left today, check the current block tip on mempool.space, add up the subsidies issued through that block, and subtract the total from 20,999,999.9769.
Start here
- 1Check the latest block height using an explorer such as [mempool.space](https://mempool.space/api/blocks/tip/height) or [blockstream.info](https://blockstream.info/api/blocks/tip/height).
- 2Identify which 210,000-block halving epoch contains that block height to determine the current subsidy.
- 3Calculate total coins minted so far by summing completed epochs and adding the progress through the current epoch.
- 4Subtract the minted total from 20,999,999.9769 to find the remaining unmined balance.
- 5Remember that permanently lost private keys mean total spendable supply is strictly lower than cumulative minted supply.
Strengths
- Predictable issuance enables exact calculations of maximum coin production across any future block height.
Common misunderstandings
- The exact day and month the final coin is minted cannot be determined due to natural variations in block confirmation times.
- Calculating unmined supply does not reveal spendable supply because coins with lost private keys remain unmeasured.
- As block subsidies decrease to zero, miners will obtain income only from transaction fees.
Common questions
Is bitcoin limited in supply?
Yes, bitcoin has a strict protocol limit of slightly less than 21 million coins. Under the current rules, the block subsidy halves every 210,000 blocks until reaching zero satoshis after block 6,929,999, which ensures no more than 20,999,999.9769 coins can ever be created.
How long does it take to mine one bitcoin?
The entire network issues 3.125 new coins roughly every 10 minutes, generating about 450 new coins per day across 144 blocks. How long it takes an individual miner to mint one coin depends entirely on their operational hashpower relative to total global mining power, as detailed in our guide explaining how Bitcoin mining works.
How many bitcoin have been mined so far?
At block height 975,926 on 15 November 2026, exactly 20,112,271.875 coins have been created. This equals approximately 95.77 percent of the maximum supply, leaving about 887,728 coins remaining to be issued.
How many bitcoin are lost?
No one can measure the exact number of lost coins. Known permanent reductions include the unspendable 50 coins in the genesis block, historical miner underpayments like the one-satoshi shortfall in block 124,724, and private keys lost by holders over time.
Sources
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