Here are the five, in short. The supply ends just under 21 million coins, and more than 20 million already exist. New issuance halves every 210,000 blocks. The first known purchase was 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. A large share of all coins may be lost for good. And the US government now holds seized bitcoin in a reserve that it has said it will not sell. The newest development is from 16 September 2026, when a House committee voted 28-21 to advance a bill that would write that reserve into law. The details, dates and sources follow.
Where it started
Satoshi Nakamoto announced the Bitcoin paper on the Cryptography Mailing List on 31 October 2008. The email began: "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully..."
The genesis block has a timestamp of 3 January 2009 and carries the text "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks". The 50 BTC paid by that block's generation transaction can never be spent. The Bitcoin Wiki puts this down to a quirk in how the genesis block is expressed in the code, and says nobody knows whether it was intentional.
Fact 1: The supply cap is not exactly 21 million, and over 20 million already exist
The protocol caps the supply at 20,999,999.9769 BTC, slightly less than the round "21 million" usually quoted. Nobody votes on new coins. Each block's reward is fixed by the protocol's rules.
You can work out how much exists from the reward schedule. The first four reward eras (50, 25, 12.5 and 6.25 BTC per block, 210,000 blocks each) issued 19,687,500 BTC. At 3.125 BTC per block since block 840,000, the 20,000,000 mark falls at about block 940,000. Block explorer data dates that block to March 2026, and block 942,940 to 30 March 2026. So the 20 millionth bitcoin was issued in March 2026. Under 1 million BTC remain to be issued over the next century or so.
The Bitcoin Wiki estimates the last fraction of a coin around 2140. The exact date depends on future mining power.
Fact 2: Issuance halves every 210,000 blocks, not on a calendar date
The block reward halves every 210,000 blocks, which works out to roughly every four years:
| Block height | Reward per block | Approximate date |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50 BTC | 3 Jan 2009 |
| 210,000 | 25 BTC | 28 Nov 2012 |
| 420,000 | 12.5 BTC | 9 Jul 2016 |
| 630,000 | 6.25 BTC | 11 May 2020 |
| 840,000 | 3.125 BTC | 20 Apr 2024 |
| 1,050,000 | 1.5625 BTC | about four years after April 2024, depending on block times |
Because halvings are counted in blocks, nobody can name the date of the next one in advance. If blocks keep coming roughly every ten minutes, it lands around 2028.
What this means in practice
New supply now grows by 3.125 BTC per block, plus fees paid to miners. When you see a "halving countdown", treat it as an estimate based on current block times.
How many bitcoin exist at a given block?
Enter a block height in the current reward era to see how many BTC the protocol schedule had issued by then.
| Block height (current era: 840,000 to 1,050,000) | BTC issued by the protocol schedule up to that block |
|---|---|
| 940,000 | 20,000,000 BTC |
| 942,940 | 20,009,187.5 BTC |
| 1,050,000 | 20,343,750 BTC |
- The block height is your own input; the formula uses only the reward schedule described in the article.
- The result counts coins issued by the schedule, including coins that may be lost and the unspendable genesis reward.
This only covers the 3.125 BTC era between blocks 840,000 and 1,050,000: it cannot give a date for a block, leaves out fees, and does not show how many coins are lost or still in use.
Fact 3: The first known purchase was 10,000 BTC for two pizzas
On 18 May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz posted on the Bitcoin Talk forum: "I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones." On 22 May 2010 he posted again: "I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza." The same post thanks the user jercos, who appears to have been the counterparty, though the thread never states it directly.
That is why 22 May is known as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Fact 4: A large share of all bitcoin may never move again
In June 2020, Chainalysis estimated that about 20% of the roughly 18.6 million BTC mined at the time had not moved from its addresses in five years or more, and classed it as lost. That is about 3.7 million BTC. The estimate counts coins that look abandoned, not coins proven lost, and it is now more than six years old.
Lost coins are lost because of how ownership works. Whoever controls the private key controls the coins, and no one can reset a key.
The best-known case is James Howells, who says a hard drive he threw out held 7,500 BTC (some reports say 8,000). A UK court dismissed his claim to dig through Newport's landfill in January 2025, saying it had "no reasonable grounds and no realistic prospect of success at trial". Newport City Council's 2025–26 budget proposal included plans to "close and cap" the site.
What this means in practice
If you hold your own keys, an offline, tested backup of your seed phrase is the only recovery route. No help desk can restore it.
Fact 5: The US government keeps seized bitcoin in a reserve, and Congress is now voting on it
On 6 March 2025, an executive order established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. It is funded with bitcoin the Treasury holds from final forfeitures, not purchases. The order says: "Government BTC deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve shall not be sold." It lists exceptions, such as court orders and returns to victims. Any strategies for acquiring more bitcoin must be "budget neutral" and must not impose incremental costs on taxpayers.
Newest step: on 16 September 2026 the House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 to advance H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act. Rep. Nick Begich introduced it on 21 May 2026, with Rep. Jared Golden as co-lead. As reported, the bill would hold reserve bitcoin for 20 years and direct the Treasury to maintain a "secure Bitcoin storage facility". It also includes language on acquiring more bitcoin over five years through "budget-neutral strategies". It still needs a vote by the full House and passage in the Senate, where a similar bill has not passed. In July 2026, according to The Block, Bloomberg reported that a dispute between the Treasury and Commerce departments over who oversees the reserve had delayed its rollout.
The government does not publish an official figure for how much bitcoin it holds.
One more: the energy mix has shifted
The April 2025 Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report surveyed 49 mining firms. It found that 52.4% of their energy came from sustainable sources (42.6% renewables, 9.8% nuclear), up from an estimated 37.6% in 2022. Natural gas rose to 38.2% and became the largest single source. Coal fell from 36.6% to 8.9%. The report estimates the network uses 138 TWh a year, about 0.5% of global electricity. The authors note that the sample leans heavily towards North America.
