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Bitcoin quietly crosses 20 million mined as scarcity era begins

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Bitcoin leverage jumps as open interest spikes near $70k

Bitcoin has passed 20 million mined coins, hardening its ultra‑scarce supply just as macro volatility, lost BTC, and a shift toward fee‑driven security reshape the network’s next century.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) 20 millionth coin has quietly tipped the network into a new structural phase, one where hard‑coded scarcity collides head‑on with a still‑fragile macro regime built on cheap liquidity and leveraged risk.

Supply is (almost) done

According to real‑time data from CloverPool’s Bitcoin explorer, more than 20 million BTC have now been mined, meaning roughly 95% of the protocol’s fixed 21 million cap is already in existence. Analysts notes that as the 20 millionth coin is mined, 95.24% of the total supply will be in circulation, leaving fewer than 1 million BTC to be created over more than a century as halving cycles grind issuance toward zero. Others quoted in a recent market note described the event as “a powerful testament to the resilience and predictability of the protocol,” arguing that Bitcoin has effectively transitioned from a high‑inflation asset to an “ultra‑scarce” monetary instrument.

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That long tail is not trivial: the final satoshi will be mined “around 2140,” with the 2032 halving already cutting rewards to 0.78125 BTC per block and pushing miners further toward a fee‑driven security model, analysts added. On top of that, between 2.3 and 3.7 million BTC may be permanently lost, implying an effective circulating supply closer to 15.8–17.5 million coins rather than the raw on‑chain 20 million headline.

Macro‑driven tape

Price action, meanwhile, still looks more human than the issuance curve. Bitcoin traded around $68,191 at press time, down about 3.95% over the past 24 hours, with a 24‑hour range between $67,790 and $71,520 as spot volumes hovered near $48.5 billion. That keeps BTC pinned in a choppy range even as the structural supply story hardens in one direction only. Ethereum changed hands near $2,000, Solana around $83, and XRP just above $1.33, each slipping or grinding within a few percentage points on the day as majors continue to trade like high‑beta plays on global risk sentiment rather than slow‑moving monetary experiments.

The tension is obvious to anyone watching the order book: issuance is on rails for the next century, but valuations still breathe with every data print and policy whisper. “Scarcity is no longer a thesis, it’s a live parameter,” one analyst said, adding that from here, “macro, positioning, and fees will do more work than block rewards.”

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Crypto World

Sharplink Reiterates Ether Conviction Despite 2025 Market Sell-Off

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​Ethereum treasury company Sharplink has reported a $734.6 million net loss for 2025 due to a crypto market decline in the second half of the year.

The firm posted its financial results for the year on Monday, revealing that its full-year net loss was primarily driven by a $616.2 million paper loss on the 868,699 Ether (ETH) it has accumulated to date.

Adding to its losses was a $140.2 million impairment charge related to converting its staked Ether.

Ethereum saw rocky performance in the second half of 2025. While its price climbed to $4,829 in August, the October market crash saw it spiraling down to close the year at roughly $3,000.

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Despite the losses, the firm said it will continue to buy more Ether, arguing that its strategy is designed to weather crypto volatility.

“While short-term market volatility impacted GAAP financial results, our strategy is designed to excel through cycles. Our mandate is simple: increase ETH per share responsibly and maximize the productivity of our treasury through time,” Sharplink said.

Sharplink, chaired by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, pivoted from being a sports betting marketing company to becoming a digital asset treasury in June 2025.

Sharplink is looking to gradually increase its Ether-per-share ratio to create long-term shareholder value. The firm said it managed to more than double this ratio in 2025, going from 2 ETH per share to 4.01 ETH per share.

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Source: Sharplink

Despite taking a hit on the value of its ETH holdings, total revenue jumped 659% from $3.7 million to $28.1 million in 2025. Meanwhile, ETH staking revenue increased by 48.5% from Q3 to Q4 to hit $15.3 million.

For the year, the firm also banked $55.2 million from its ETH-to-liquid-staked-ETH conversions and redemptions.

Related: Ether’s path to $2.5K may be trickier than expected: Here’s why

After securing $3.2 billion in funding across 2025, Sharplink has become the second-largest publicly traded Ethereum holder behind BitMine Immersion Technologies, which now holds over 4.5 million ETH, representing 3.76% of the total supply.

BitMine also reportedly has major paper losses on its Ethereum holdings, with some estimates hitting as high as $8.8 billion amid a 60% drop in ETH over the past six months.

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