Bitcoin has reached a significant milestone, as more than 90% of its total supply has already been mined, according to the Clark Moody Bitcoin Dashboard. As the popularity of the coin grows, sudden and robust supply shock could become inevitable.

The Bitcoin network enforces a supply cap of 21 million coins. Once the last coin is mined, its quantity can never increase again. No one has the right to increase the supply of Bitcoin in the same way that no one can reduce it.

Only a small segment of society understands what Bitcoin is and its real potential to empower ordinary citizens, according to Bitcoin Magazine. For example, it can function as a store of value for residents of countries with relatively stable economies. On the other hand, for those living in highly volatile countries like Palestine, Bitcoin may be their only hope of gaining financial freedom.

The predictable issuance of new Bitcoin keeps being triggered every ten minutes on average as another block is mined, irrespective of the level of understanding people may or may not have about the monetary network. But everything could soon change.

Now that more than 90% of the bitcoin supply has already been issued, the scarcity is even more evident. While issuance does not determine liquidity, as coins already issued can and often are traded on the market, the truth is that most of the circulating supply of Bitcoin belongs to organizations with little or no sales history.

A report from December 2020 by data analytics firm Glassnode indicates that 14.5 million BTC (78% of the circulating Bitcoin supply) is currently held by illiquid individuals. Thus, while the issued Bitcoin can be traded in the marketplace, most of it is owned by people who have no intention of selling it.

Bitcoin can still be bought at this point, but once people, institutions, and governments start realizing how rare this crypto coin is, a whole new level of FOMO (fear of missing out) will come. A supply shock may become inevitable because there will not be enough supply to accommodate a surge in demand from large players such as hedge funds and central banks, leading to a sharp increase in prices before the dollar collapses completely.

© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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