Bitcoin Supply Dynamics

Explore how Bitcoin's monetary policy creates digital scarcity

1

Bitcoin's Actual Supply Schedule

Initial Block Subsidy
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What is this? The block subsidy is the amount of new Bitcoin created and awarded to miners each time they successfully mine a block. When Bitcoin launched in 2009, this reward started at 50 BTC per block—the initial rate of new coin creation.
50 BTC
Halving Frequency
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What is this? Every 210,000 blocks (approximately 4 years), the block reward is cut in half. This event is called a "halving." With blocks mined roughly every 10 minutes, 210,000 blocks takes about 4 years to complete.
210,000
Halving Reduction
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What is this? At each halving event, the block reward is reduced by 50%. This means miners receive half as much Bitcoin for the same work. The rewards went from 50 → 25 → 12.5 → 6.25 → 3.125 BTC, and will continue halving until it reaches the smallest unit (1 satoshi).
50%
Maximum Supply
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What is this? Due to the halving mechanism, the total Bitcoin supply follows a geometric series that converges to approximately 21 million BTC. This hard cap is enforced by Bitcoin's code and cannot be changed, making Bitcoin a deflationary asset with absolute scarcity.
~21M BTC

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Era Start Block Reward/Block Starting Supply BTC Added Ending Supply % Increase
Note: Bitcoin's halving mechanism ensures that the block reward is cut in half approximately every 4 years (210,000 blocks). Because Bitcoin uses integer math (satoshis), fractional satoshis are lost during each halving—they simply round down to zero and are never created. This is why the actual maximum supply is ~20,999,999.9769 BTC, not exactly 21 million.
2

Interactive Supply Model

Customize Parameters

Adjust the values below to explore different monetary policy scenarios

BTC
blocks
%
Maximum Supply
20,999,999.9769
Total Eras
34
Time to Max Supply
~136 years

← Scroll horizontally to see all columns →

Era Start Block Reward/Block Starting Supply BTC Added Ending Supply % Increase
Experiment: Try changing the halving percentage to see how it affects the total supply. A 50% reduction (like Bitcoin) creates a geometric series that converges to a finite sum. Lower percentages mean faster convergence to max supply; higher percentages mean slower convergence.