A block tally reported by EconoTimes put Bitcoin's cumulative issuance at 20.1 million BTC on Tuesday, Oct. 20, leaving roughly 899,000 coins before the network reaches its 21 million BTC ceiling.
At block 972,334, cumulative subsidies stood at 20,101,046.875 BTC, or about 95.7% of the ceiling. The remaining 898,953.125 BTC is the amount left to be issued under the schedule. An earlier EconoTimes report on the issuance tally covered the same block-based measure.
The tally counts newly created BTC paid to miners as a block subsidy. Bitcoin's protocol halves that payment at intervals of 210,000 blocks. The most recent reduction took place at block 840,000 on April 20, 2024, bringing the subsidy to 3.125 BTC per block.
Bitcoin.org estimates the next reduction will occur around 2028, when the network reaches block 1,050,000. The subsidy is then scheduled to fall to 1.5625 BTC per block.
The issuance schedule follows block heights rather than calendar dates, so the expected end of new issuance around 2140 is an estimate. Miners may continue earning transaction fees paid in BTC that already exists after new issuance ends.
