{"id":4422,"date":"2024-09-04T13:45:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T17:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?p=4422"},"modified":"2024-09-05T09:44:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T13:44:35","slug":"where-do-bitcoins-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Where do Bitcoins come from?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because they\u2019re a digital currency, there\u2019s not a simple answer to the question, \u201cWhere do Bitcoins come from?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitcoin<\/a> was created in 2009 by an unknown developer (or developers) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto<\/strong>. Nakamoto seemingly created the digital currency in response to the 2008 financial crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

New Bitcoins enter the ecosystem using the computer programming Nakamoto wrote when creating the Bitcoin network. This program will only ever produce 21 million Bitcoin<\/strong>. Today, a little over <\/span>16.7 million<\/span><\/a> exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bitcoins<\/p>\n

Where do new Bitcoins come from?<\/span><\/h3>\n

In the Bitcoin whitepaper<\/a>, Nakamoto explains that each Bitcoin transaction has to be verified by a decentralized group of computers – also known as miners. In exchange for verifying transactions and auditing the network ledger, these miners get Bitcoins as a reward. <\/span><\/p>\n

These Bitcoin<\/a> rewards had previously not been in circulation and therefore come from the network programming.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transactions are grouped together in sets called <\/span>blocks<\/b>. With each block, miners work to solve a complex algorithm for the privilege to add the block to the chain of existing blocks, hence the name\u00a0<\/span>blockchain<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The algorithm increases and decreases in difficulty to ensure that each block takes an average of 10 minutes<\/strong> to mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first miner to solve the algorithm broadcasts the answer to the rest of the miners on the network. If the other miners agree that the block is valid, they add it to the blockchain.<\/span><\/p>\n

The miner that solved the algorithm then receives the Bitcoin reward<\/strong>. The mining rewards are the only source of new Bitcoins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitcoin mining rewards<\/span><\/h3>\n

The bitcoin mining reward started at 50 Bitcoin per block<\/strong> and has decreased 50% every 210,000 blocks (~4 years)<\/strong>. The current mining reward is 12.5 Bitcoin per block. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reward will continue to decrease about every 4 years until all of the Bitcoins are in circulation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin was created as a digital currency in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an unknown developer(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":4425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"iawp_total_views":46,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5714],"tags":[5741,5785],"class_list":{"0":"post-4422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-bitcoin","9":"tag-fundamentals"},"wppr_data":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhere do Bitcoins come from? | Overview | Coin Central<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bitcoin was created as a digital currency in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an unknown developer(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Do Bitcoins Come From?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An explanation of where Bitcoins come from, how they're created, and when they'll stop being produced.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CoinCentral\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-04T17:45:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-05T13:44:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steven Buchko\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Where Do Bitcoins Come From?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"An explanation of where Bitcoins come from, how they're created, and when they'll stop being produced.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@therealbucci\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steven Buchko\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/\",\"name\":\"Where do Bitcoins come from? | Overview | Coin Central\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-04T17:45:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-05T13:44:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a981a148cffd6d26a6d428d33eddca53\"},\"description\":\"Bitcoin was created as a digital currency in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an unknown developer(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Where do Bitcoins come from\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where do Bitcoins come from?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/\",\"name\":\"CoinCentral\",\"description\":\"Your Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other Cryptocurrency HQ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a981a148cffd6d26a6d428d33eddca53\",\"name\":\"Steven Buchko\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46a664892f8d3069070d29dcb9ad85c087180c40754d29298d028c4ed2b036c7?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46a664892f8d3069070d29dcb9ad85c087180c40754d29298d028c4ed2b036c7?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steven Buchko\"},\"description\":\"Based in Austin, TX, Steven has interviewed industry heavyweights such as Wanchain President Dustin Byington, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Josh Constine, IOST CEO Jimmy Zhong, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky, and ICON co-founder Min Kim among others. Steven is a co-founder and CEO of Steve, an AI financial coach. \u00a0You can follow him on Twitter @TheRealBucci to read his \u201cclever insights on the crypto industry.\u201d His words, not ours.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/therealbucci\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/author\/stevenbuchko\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where do Bitcoins come from? | Overview | Coin Central","description":"Bitcoin was created as a digital currency in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an unknown developer(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where Do Bitcoins Come From?","og_description":"An explanation of where Bitcoins come from, how they're created, and when they'll stop being produced.","og_url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/","og_site_name":"CoinCentral","article_published_time":"2024-09-04T17:45:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-05T13:44:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Steven Buchko","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Where Do Bitcoins Come From?","twitter_description":"An explanation of where Bitcoins come from, how they're created, and when they'll stop being produced.","twitter_creator":"@therealbucci","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steven Buchko","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/","url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/","name":"Where do Bitcoins come from? | Overview | Coin Central","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png","datePublished":"2024-09-04T17:45:23+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-05T13:44:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a981a148cffd6d26a6d428d33eddca53"},"description":"Bitcoin was created as a digital currency in 2009 in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an unknown developer(s) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bitcoin-come-from.png","width":2000,"height":1000,"caption":"Where do Bitcoins come from"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/where-do-bitcoins-come-from\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where do Bitcoins come from?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/","name":"CoinCentral","description":"Your Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other Cryptocurrency HQ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a981a148cffd6d26a6d428d33eddca53","name":"Steven Buchko","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46a664892f8d3069070d29dcb9ad85c087180c40754d29298d028c4ed2b036c7?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46a664892f8d3069070d29dcb9ad85c087180c40754d29298d028c4ed2b036c7?s=96&r=g","caption":"Steven Buchko"},"description":"Based in Austin, TX, Steven has interviewed industry heavyweights such as Wanchain President Dustin Byington, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Josh Constine, IOST CEO Jimmy Zhong, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky, and ICON co-founder Min Kim among others. Steven is a co-founder and CEO of Steve, an AI financial coach. \u00a0You can follow him on Twitter @TheRealBucci to read his \u201cclever insights on the crypto industry.\u201d His words, not ours.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/therealbucci"],"url":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/author\/stevenbuchko\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}