How Many Bitcoins Are There? Total Supply, Circulation, and Scarcity Explained (2025)

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How Many Bitcoins Are There Right Now?

There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins. As of September 11, 2025, about 19,919,368 BTC are in circulation, while estimates suggest that 3–4 million BTC are permanently lost. This leaves just 1.3 million BTC to be mined over the next century, making Bitcoin increasingly scarce over time.

Key Takeaways

• Maximum supply: 21 million BTC 
• Currently circulating (2025): ~19,919,368 million BTC.
• Lost or inaccessible: 3 -4 million BTC estimated gone forever.
• Yet to be mined: ~1.3 million BTC until 2140.
• Distribution: Millions of wallets and addresses exist, but a small minority hold most BTC.
• Scarcity effect: Bitcoin is more limited than gold or fiat, boosting its store-of-value appeal.

Why Is the Supply Capped at 21 Million?

Bitcoin’s protocol enforces a fixed supply, unlike fiat money.

• Mining rewards started at 50 BTC per block (2009).
• Rewards halve every 210,000 blocks (~4 years).
• In April 2024, rewards dropped to 3.125 BTC.
• By 2140, the final Bitcoin will be mined.

This schedule ensures predictable scarcity, often compared to gold’s finite supply.

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How Many Bitcoins Are Lost?

Not all mined coins can be used. Research suggests 3–4 million BTC are inaccessible due to:

• Forgotten private keys or lost seed phrases.
• Damaged hard drives (e.g., the famous landfill case in the UK).
  Early coins mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, untouched since 2009.

This reduces the effective circulating supply closer to ~16 million BTC.

How Many Bitcoin Addresses and Wallets Exist?

• Addresses created: Over 1.2 billion Bitcoin addresses.
• Daily active addresses: Around 800k–1M.
• Wallets: Tens of millions globally, but many addresses belong to the same wallet.

👉 Secure self-custody matters: read our Seed Phrase vs. Private Key guide.

How Many Bitcoin Millionaires and Billionaires Are There?

• Millionaires: Roughly 80,000–100,000 wallets contain BTC worth $1M+.
• Billionaires: Fewer than 10 known entities — including early adopters and corporations like MicroStrategy — hold BTC worth billions.
  

How Many Bitcoin Nodes Are There?

Bitcoin nodes maintain the network by enforcing consensus rules.

• ~23,637 reachable nodes operate worldwide (September 11th, 2025).
  Many more run privately.
• Nodes guarantee Bitcoin’s decentralization and no single authority controls it.
  

How Many Bitcoin ETFs Are There?

• United States: 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved in 2024.
• Europe & Canada: Multiple ETFs already operating, holding hundreds of thousands of BTC.

ETFs absorb large amounts of Bitcoin, reducing liquid supply available on exchanges.

Callout Box: Bitcoin Scarcity vs Other Assets

Why Scarcity Matters

Bitcoin’s scarcity is key to its role as:

• Digital gold: A hedge against inflation.
• Store of value: Deflationary nature attracts long-term holders.
• Alternative to fiat: Supply can’t be manipulated by governments.

Institutions, companies, and individuals now treat BTC as reserve money .

FAQs

How many Bitcoin ETFs exist?

At least 11 in the U.S. plus several in Europe and Canada.

How many different Bitcoins are there?

Only one true Bitcoin (BTC). However, forks exist (Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV) but are separate networks.

What happens when all 21M are mined?

No new coins will be issued. Miners will rely solely on transaction fees.

Can Bitcoin’s supply be changed?

Only with overwhelming consensus across all nodes, extremely unlikely.

The Real Supply Is Smaller Than 21M

While Bitcoin’s cap is 21 million BTC, the usable supply is lower due to lost coins, long-term holders, and institutional custody. This enforced scarcity strengthens Bitcoin’s role as digital gold.

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