CZ: Over 20.07 Million Bitcoin Mined, Actual Circulating Supply Likely Lower

BitcoinWorld

CZ: Over 20.07 Million Bitcoin Mined, Actual Circulating Supply Likely Lower

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said on X that Bitcoin’s cumulative mined supply has surpassed 20.07 million as of August 2026, reaching 95.6% of its maximum supply of 21 million. Zhao noted that only 4.4% of the total supply remains to be mined, and he estimated that 10% to 20% of existing BTC has been lost or is inaccessible, leaving those tokens permanently unrecoverable. He described Bitcoin as a deflationary asset.

Context and Implications for Bitcoin’s Supply

Bitcoin’s supply schedule is encoded in its protocol, with block rewards halving approximately every four years. The last bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140. As of now, over 95% of all bitcoin that will ever exist has been mined, underscoring the scarcity that underpins its value proposition. CZ’s estimate of lost coins aligns with previous analyses by firms like Chainalysis, which have suggested that a significant portion of mined bitcoin is irretrievably lost due to forgotten private keys, hardware failures, or other mishaps.

If 10-20% of the existing supply is indeed lost, the effective circulating supply would be between 16.06 million and 18.06 million BTC. This would make Bitcoin even scarcer than its nominal supply suggests, potentially influencing long-term price dynamics and investor perception. The concept of a deflationary asset is central to Bitcoin’s design, as its fixed supply contrasts with fiat currencies that can be inflated by central banks.