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Bitcoin Mining Reaches 20 million Coins, Only One Million Left to Mine

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR:

  • The 20 millionth Bitcoin was mined; only one million remain to enter circulation over 100+ years.
  • Bitcoin’s halving mechanism gradually slows new coin creation, ensuring predictable scarcity.
  • Mining secures the network, while future transaction fees will sustain miner incentives.
  • Bitcoin’s decentralized, inflation-resistant design continues to attract global investors.

Bitcoin’s 20 million mined marks a historic milestone as the network reaches over 20 million coins. Only one million remain to be mined, reinforcing Bitcoin’s scarcity, decentralized structure, and long-term inflation-proof economic design in global finance.

Mining Milestone Highlights Scarcity

Bitcoin reached a new stage as the 20 millionth coin was mined, leaving only one million coins yet to enter circulation.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, highlighted the milestone on X, noting the remaining coins will take over 100 years to mine.

Mining remains the core process of Bitcoin’s issuance. Miners validate transactions and secure the network while receiving newly minted coins as rewards. 

When Bitcoin launched in 2009, the block reward was 50 BTC. The halving mechanism reduces rewards approximately every four years. 

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The latest reduction brought the block reward to 3.125 BTC, significantly slowing the creation of new coins. This ensures Bitcoin approaches its 21 million cap gradually, maintaining predictable scarcity.

Mining also supports network security. Over time, transaction fees are expected to replace block rewards as the primary incentive for miners. 

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This allows the network to remain decentralized and functional even after all coins are mined.

Decentralized, Inflation-Resistant Money

Bitcoin’s fixed supply positions it as an inflation-resistant asset. Unlike fiat currencies, which can be printed at will, Bitcoin’s 21 million maximum ensures it remains scarce and predictable over time.

Global interest continues to grow. Institutions, corporations, and individual investors are increasingly recognizing Bitcoin as a decentralized, inflation-proof store of value. 

The milestone reinforces its long-term economic design and transparency. The remaining one million coins will enter circulation slowly due to halving. 

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This controlled release preserves scarcity, while mining efficiency, hardware, and renewable energy use shape the network’s evolution. Brian Armstrong emphasizes Bitcoin’s role as global money, offering a decentralized alternative to traditional finance.

Bitcoin 20 Million Mined represents more than just a number; it reflects the asset’s scarcity, long-term value proposition, and unique design as decentralized, inflation-resistant money.

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Crypto World

Crypto ATM Fraud Hit $333 Million in the US in 2025

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Crypto ATM Fraud Hit $333 Million in the US in 2025

Crypto ATM fraud surged to $333 million in the US in 2025, with complaints received by the FBI growing 33% in the year as scam networks became more industrialized while tapping into advanced AI deepfake technology.

Crypto ATM fraud is one of the fastest-growing financial crime categories in the US, according to cybersecurity firm CertiK in its latest report shared with Cointelegraph on Thursday, explaining that criminal organizations are exploiting the “speed and pseudonymity” of crypto ATMs or “kiosks” to extract funds from victims at an accelerating pace.

The FBI recorded more than 12,000 complaints between January and November 2025, also a 33% increase from the prior year. The US accounts for 78% of the world’s 45,000 cryptocurrency machines, said CertiK. 

Their ability to convert cash to crypto in under five minutes with minimal identity verification “makes them the lowest-friction extraction channel available to scammers,” the firm added. 

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Elderly more vulnerable to social engineering

The report also noted that there was an “attribution gap” because the blockchain only records the operator-to-destination transfer, not the victim’s identity. This makes forensic tracing extremely difficult without court orders for operator records.

Around 86% of losses involve victims over 60, as older adults are disproportionately vulnerable due to “liquid savings,” lower crypto literacy, and social isolation.

However, younger victims are increasingly appearing in romance or investment scams, commonly known as “pig butchering,” which is one of five primary tactics used by scammers.

The other four approaches are government impersonation, tech support fraud, “grandparent scams,” and fake fraud recovery offers.

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Related: DC attorney general sues Athena Bitcoin over alleged hidden fees

Unlike phishing or wallet-draining attacks, which involve compromising private keys or tricking users into signing malicious smart contract requests, ATM-based fraud “relies entirely on social engineering to induce the victim to perform a voluntary physical action at a kiosk,” stated CertiK. 

The five types of ATM fraud approaches. Source: CertiK

AI is making things worse

AI-enabled social engineering scams were 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods in 2025, reported CertiK.

The integration of “real-time deepfake synthetic media” into scam and fraud operations represents the most “significant near-term escalation,” it stated. 

“AI-driven personalization tools enable scammers to scrape social media data and construct hyper-targeted scripts that mirror the specific language, appearance, and communication patterns of the victim’s trusted contacts.” 

The profile of crypto ATM scammers has also shifted from independent actors to structured transnational criminal organizations operating with corporate-level divisions of labor, according to CertiK.

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“Transnational criminal organizations are industrializing ATM-based extraction at unprecedented scale.”

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said in September that she hopes the crypto market structure legislation will help tackle ATM fraud by punishing bad actors without limiting innovation.

In February 2025, US Senator Dick Durbin introduced the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, aiming to introduce safeguards for crypto kiosk users.

Magazine: China’s ‘50x’ blockchain boost, Alibaba-linked AI mines Bitcoin: Asia Express