On April 1, 2022, SBI Crypto mined block 730002, thus reaching 19 million Bitcoins mined. This only leaves room for 2 million cryptocurrencies to be minted, which will be unlocked in the next 120 years. It is a historical milestone that will mark the future of the transactions.
With their recent achievement, SBI Crypto earned 6.32 BTC, which was equivalent to $293,000 at the time. Approximately one block is discovered every 10 minutes, while the next halving is estimated to occur on May 3, 2024, which will reduce the block to 3,125 BTC.
The currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto is increasingly scarce. It only leaves 2 million to be unlocked , since its limit is 21, which is expected to be completed in 2140. It is a relatively short figure that seems to leave little room for the following years, however, the mining gurus celebrate the milestone and ensure that scarcity will only increase the value of the currency.
celebration of the event
The news has been celebrated, as every time another million is exceeded, since it exposes the global efforts to get hold of this currency. This implies that, despite its scarcity, its value is very high. In addition, the entry of new funds implies a greater circulation, since 65% of Bitcoins have not changed hands during the last year.
At this time, the BTC world is full of words towards Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the group of people who created the currency. Bart de Groot, the founder of Bitcoin Bloem stated that “the 19 million mined represents a historic moment”.
However, currency gurus emphasize that there is still a long way to go before society approves the daily use of cryptocurrency. Alex Gladstein, director of strategy at the Human Rights Foundation, stressed on Twitter that it is incredible that 19 of 21 million have already been reached, but that no country, except El Salvador, has adopted it as legal currency.
Exclusive legal use in El Salvador
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, bets on cryptocurrencies. Thus, the Central American country is the only one that accepts the currency as legal use . It is a risky bet due to the convulsions of its value. At the time of this writing, the coin is around $42,000 per unit, a much higher price than the $36,500 for which the Salvadoran government recently bought 410BTC per unit.
Bukele’s decision has not pleased the IMF, who in February insisted El Salvador eliminate its legal use, alleging risks to financial stability. Interestingly, due to the disastrous scenario caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bitcoin seems to be a solution to inflation and fluctuations in traditional currencies, such as the ruble.
His most ambitious project is Bitcoin City, a city financed by cryptocurrencies . This will have all the services of a standard city, in addition to high comforts, to which will be added being free of taxes on income, capital gains and property. According to Bukele, it will cost around 300,000 bitcoins, approximately 12.5 billion euros. “If we want bitcoin to spread throughout the world, we should build some Alexandrias,” the president declared about his pharaonic project.
