I noticed an interesting thing regarding the circulating supply of Bitcoin. We are now approaching 20 million BTC mined, which marks a major milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency.

What really fascinates me is the contrast between the mining speed of the first millions and that of the last ones. The first 19 million were mined in about 12 years, but the last million should take even more than a decade to mine. This is a direct consequence of Bitcoin's halving, which reduces block rewards every four years.

With a maximum supply limited to 21 million BTC, we can calculate that Bitcoin's programmed scarcity is becoming increasingly evident. The number of BTC in circulation is approaching its theoretical cap, raising interesting questions about future scarcity and long-term price dynamics.

This slowing mining schedule really shows how the Bitcoin protocol was designed to create artificial scarcity. While most BTC are already in circulation, the last millions will take an eternity to be mined. It’s a brilliant design to maintain value, but it also means that the majority of the BTC supply we will ever see is already here.

Interesting to follow for those interested in tokenomics and digital scarcity.