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Bitcoin’s “21 million” figure is the nominal maximum number of BTC that the network’s issuance rules are designed to create. New bitcoins are issued as block subsidies, and that subsidy halves every 210,000 blocks. The cap is enforced by the software rules network participants choose to follow—not by a central issuer.
How Bitcoin’s 21 million limit works
Bitcoin creates new BTC through block subsidies paid when miners add valid blocks. The subsidy began at 50 BTC per block and is cut in half at each interval of 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years. Bitcoin.org describes issuance as decreasing and predictable, and explains that nodes reject blocks that do not follow the rules they expect: Bitcoin.org’s explanation of how bitcoins are created.
After the April 2024 halving, the subsidy became 3.125 BTC per block. A 2026 Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options filing hosted by the SEC reports both that reward and the 210,000-block interval: SEC-hosted Nasdaq filing. Because the subsidy keeps shrinking, the schedule approaches 21 million rather than reaching it in a single final payment.
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What the 21 million figure does—and does not—count
The figure describes a nominal protocol issuance ceiling. It does not mean that 21 million BTC have already been created, that all issued coins are currently accessible, or that every coin can be spent. Cumulative issuance and spendable supply are different measures; the cited sources do not establish a reliable count of lost or inaccessible bitcoins.
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Bitcoin Core defines MAX_MONEY as 21,000,000 BTC, but its source comment explicitly says this is a sanity check and “is *not* the total money supply.” It should not be treated as a calculation of how many bitcoins have actually been issued: Bitcoin Core’s amount.h source.
How many bitcoins have been mined, and when will issuance end?
A 2026 issuer filing with the SEC estimated that approximately 20 million bitcoins had been generated as of February 12, 2026. That is a dated estimate, not a live count. The same filing estimates that the 21 millionth bitcoin will be generated around 2140. This is an approximate year, not a precise date, because block times vary: 2026 SEC issuer filing.
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Can Bitcoin’s supply cap change?
The cap is not a law of nature: participants could adopt a protocol change that alters the issuance rule. A 2026 Nasdaq filing hosted by the SEC states, “However, the 21 million supply cap could be changed in a hard fork.” A hard fork changes consensus rules, and participants decide which software rules to follow. If they disagree, the result can be separate chains rather than a change accepted by everyone. Bitcoin.org’s description of nodes rejecting blocks that violate their expected rules helps explain why no single developer or central issuer can change the cap unilaterally. The filing also discusses software changes and participant adoption: SEC-hosted Nasdaq filing and 2026 SEC issuer filing.
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