The sages have predicted the outcome: bitcoin (BTC) is hitting its critical level as almost 90% of the earth's digital currency has been dug up by profit-hungry miners.
Latest reports have it that more than 17 million of the virtual currency's 21 million electronic coins have been mined and are being exchanged on the internet like never before.
The result? Only 3 million digital currencies are out there, waiting for the next mining company to extract. CoinMarketCap reveals. But seriously, experts said there's no need to be paranoid.
According to various crypto and blockchain analysts, this figure is considered as being "in circulation." The fact that cryptocurrency is limited in nature is widely seen to help the market in ways most bitcoin investors are aware of. For instance, it makes digital money immune to inflation. Simply put, bitcoin's limited resources give it more value and appeal.
Given the number of virtual cash awarded to miners per block is consistently diminishing as the years go by. As per its remaining stockpile, crypto will only be fully extracted in 2140. Bitcoin's current total fixed supply is 21 million.
The news instantly became a hot topic. On Twitter, bitcoin trader "Rhythm" warned: "Scarcity is about to kick in."
Well-known bitcoin expert "Plan B" recently calculated that the digital asset could be valued 10 times more its current market price of around 82,000 pounds per bitcoin by March 2020. Others are less enthusiastic and said that a recent price hike triggered by Facebook's announcement that it is developing its own virtual currency will shrink by 2020.
Virtual money traded without government regulation, bitcoin can be used to anonymously purchase a variety of goods on the internet. It can also be used to buy illegal stuff like drugs, and even fund terror activities.
New bitcoins come into circulation when a substantial volume of mining nodes have validated a block of crypto transactions. The miners are given a reward in bitcoin for each successful mining of blocks, and in the process, more bitcoins are created.
The current market price of bitcoin has languished in the past few days, unable to find a smooth path. The world's most popular virtual asset has been zigzagging in an increasingly difficult region and has yet to sustain its bullish momentum to breach above the $10,200 mark, however bearish selling pressure has not been sufficient to hit below the $9,200 level.
