How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Mine in 2026?

Roughly one million bitcoins remain to be issued. Bitcoin’s commonly cited supply cap is 21 million BTC, and the 20 millionth bitcoin was reported mined in 2026. The cap is not quite an exact 21 million: because block subsidies are rounded down to the nearest satoshi, the maximum amount that can be created is slightly lower.

The count changes whenever a valid block is added to Bitcoin’s blockchain and its subsidy is issued. That means any exact number is a snapshot, not a permanent figure. A live blockchain explorer or a Bitcoin node can show current issuance; estimates may differ slightly depending on how they define “mined” and when their data updates.

“Left to mine” means coins not yet created by the protocol. It does not mean that this quantity is available to buy, or that all issued bitcoins can still be spent. Some existing BTC may be inaccessible because owners lost their keys, but those coins were already mined and are still part of the issued supply.

Bitcoin’s issuance is governed by its protocol. Miners compete to add the next block by carrying out proof-of-work. When a block is accepted, its miner can claim a block subsidy: newly created BTC, plus any transaction fees attached to the transactions in that block. The subsidy is the part that increases Bitcoin’s total issued supply; transaction fees are existing coins transferred by users.

The subsidy began at 50 BTC per block and is cut in half after every 210,000 blocks. The April 2024 halving reduced it from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. It will fall again at the next halving, expected around 2028, though the exact date depends on how quickly blocks are found.

Bitcoin aims for an average block interval of about 10 minutes, but blocks do not arrive on a precise timer. The network adjusts mining difficulty periodically to keep the long-run pace near that target. This combination of a declining subsidy and a target block interval makes new issuance predictable over time, even though the number of bitcoins mined on any particular day varies.

A simple estimate is to subtract the amount already issued from Bitcoin’s maximum supply. If about 20 million BTC have been mined and the cap is commonly rounded to 21 million, the remainder is about one million BTC. It is a useful scale estimate, not a live count. As new blocks are confirmed, the remaining amount declines by the subsidy issued in those blocks.

For a more exact calculation, use a current Bitcoin block height and the subsidy schedule. The subsidy starts at 50 BTC and halves every 210,000 blocks, with rounding to satoshis. Add the subsidies from the blocks already mined to estimate total issuance, then compare that result with the protocol’s maximum issuance. A block explorer can do this calculation for you; a fully validating Bitcoin node can independently verify the chain.

Different counters can show slightly different values because they update at different times or use different conventions. Some display the amount issued, while others report estimated circulating supply or subtract coins thought to be permanently lost. Those are different measures. To answer how many bitcoins remain to be mined, look for remaining scheduled issuance—not a market’s circulating-supply estimate.

Bitcoin’s subsidy schedule does not release the remaining coins all at once. The reward per block is halved roughly every four years, based on blocks rather than calendar dates. Each halving slows the rate at which new BTC enter circulation, while the total amount that can be issued remains constrained by the protocol’s rules.

The next subsidy reduction is expected around 2028. Later halvings will continue at intervals of 210,000 blocks, each cutting the subsidy in half. Because the reward is denominated in satoshis—the smallest unit of bitcoin—and the protocol rounds down, eventually the calculated subsidy becomes too small to issue another satoshi. This is why the total supply ends up slightly below the often-quoted 21 million.

The gradual schedule explains why “about one million left” does not mean miners will create one million coins soon. The quantity is spread across many decades, with progressively smaller rewards. Exact future dates are estimates: block production averages about 10 minutes, but actual block times vary, and future network conditions affect when a given block height is reached.

The final bitcoin is commonly projected to be mined around the year 2140. Treat that as a long-range estimate, not a guaranteed date. Bitcoin’s halvings occur after a set number of blocks, and the calendar date for reaching those block heights depends on the network’s average block production over time.

Also, the last issuance will not be one full coin appearing in a single final block. Subsidies become smaller at each halving, and eventually the reward is reduced to less than one satoshi and rounds down to zero. The end of issuance is therefore better understood as the point when the block subsidy can no longer create new units under the protocol’s rules.

Miners will still be able to include transactions in blocks after new issuance ends. The end of the subsidy does not automatically turn off Bitcoin or stop users from sending BTC. It changes one part of the incentive system: miners will no longer receive newly created coins, leaving transaction fees as the direct compensation included in block rewards.

Mined, issued, circulating, and spendable are not interchangeable terms. “Mined” usually refers to BTC created through block subsidies. “Circulating supply” is an estimate of coins considered available in the economy, and may be calculated differently by different services. “Spendable” describes whether someone can actually use particular coins, which depends on access to the private keys and the network’s rules.

If someone loses the keys to a wallet, the BTC controlled by those keys do not disappear from the blockchain. They remain in the issued supply, but may be effectively inaccessible. The protocol cannot confirm that a key is truly lost, and it cannot distinguish an abandoned wallet from one whose owner is simply waiting to spend. Lost coins therefore do not increase the number left to mine.

This distinction matters when people compare Bitcoin’s supply cap with the number of coins that might realistically change hands. The protocol sets a limit on issuance; it does not promise that every issued coin remains accessible, nor does it restore lost coins to the mining schedule. Any estimate of permanently lost BTC is uncertain because it relies on interpreting wallet activity rather than knowing owners’ intentions.

For an up-to-date estimate, check a Bitcoin blockchain explorer that reports total issuance or remaining supply and notes when its data was last updated. Compare the figure with the current block height and scheduled subsidy if you want to understand how it was calculated. A Bitcoin full node offers another way to verify blocks and issuance without relying on a single data provider.

Be cautious about counters that call their figure “available supply” without explaining the definition. They may subtract estimated lost coins, exclude coins held in particular types of wallets, or report a supply measure intended for market analysis. Those figures can be useful for other questions, but they do not directly tell you how many bitcoins have not yet been created.

There is no need to treat small differences between live counters as evidence of a change to Bitcoin’s cap. The latest block may not yet be reflected everywhere, and estimates may use different rounding. For a plain-language answer, “around one million remain” is more reliable than a stale exact figure. For a precise snapshot, record the counter’s timestamp and the block height it uses.

When the subsidy eventually reaches zero, miners are expected to rely on transaction fees for the direct reward included in a block. Users already pay fees to have transactions processed; those fees go to the miner who successfully adds the block. Unlike the subsidy, fees do not create new BTC. They move existing coins from users to miners.

Bitcoin’s security will continue to depend on miners doing proof-of-work, but the balance of miner revenue may change over time as the subsidy declines. How that develops depends on factors such as transaction demand, fee levels, mining costs, and the value miners place on block rewards. It is not possible to know today what fee income or network conditions will be more than a century from now.

The supply cap and miner incentives are related but separate questions. The cap limits new issuance according to the protocol; it does not guarantee a particular future fee market or mining cost. For now, each block reward still includes a subsidy as well as fees, and halvings progressively reduce the subsidy while leaving fees dependent on users’ transactions.

A fixed supply does not tell you what one bitcoin should cost. Market prices depend on buyers and sellers, liquidity, demand, expectations, and wider economic conditions. The fact that fewer new BTC are issued over time is a feature of Bitcoin’s monetary schedule, not a guarantee of price increases or investment returns.

Likewise, “one million left” does not mean one million whole coins are waiting in a reserve to be claimed by individual miners. Mining is competitive: participants use specialized equipment and electricity to try to produce valid blocks. The protocol’s block subsidy is awarded to the successful miner or mining pool, subject to the network’s rules.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: Bitcoin has a hard-coded issuance schedule, roughly one million BTC remained after the 20 million milestone reported in 2026, and that remaining amount will be issued gradually through future block subsidies. Check a live chain-based counter for the latest estimate, and keep it distinct from circulating supply, coins available for sale, or estimates of lost BTC.