17 Millionth Bitcoin to be Mined Soon

According to the charts at CoinMarketCap, 16,999,837 Bitcoins are circulating in the market right now. It wouldn’t be long before the 17 millionth Bitcoin is mined.

This is a big milestone for perhaps the most popular cryptocurrency, and the community is eagerly waiting for it. People are excited about the milestone and have tweeted about it:

It is worth noticing here that only 21 million Bitcoins can be created in total according to the cryptocurrency’s rules. This makes the milestone even more special.

Looking back in time, it was just in mid-2016 when the first millionth Bitcoin was mined. Hence the growth we are seeing is nothing short of an achievement. It reflects on the advancement that computer science has made over the years—and also how quickly it was able to make such great upgrades.

Bitcoin’s code ensures that only a certain number of new Bitcoins are created at intervals. Those operating the Bitcoin mining computers—the necessary hardware for tracking Bitcoin’s transaction set—are rewarded with a certain amount of Bitcoins whenever they introduce new entries into the official record.

While the 17 millionth Bitcoin is expected to be mined, the exact date or time of accomplishment of this milestone is uncertain. But looking at the current stats—1,800 new Bitcoins created everyday—we can predict that the milestone can be accomplished tomorrow.