Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency to appear on the market, a launch that inspired the creation and release of several different assets that follow the same principles and technology. However, BTC has always remained separate from its peers, which are known collectively as “altcoins”. With the highest market capitalization rate in the ecosystem, it is no surprise that investors are always keeping an eye on Bitcoin, even if the largest share of their portfolio doesn’t include it. That’s because BTC is so important in the digital currencies environment that its shifts are enough to change things for the other coins as well.
As a rule, when Bitcoin performs well, the altcoins do as well, with the same rule applying when Bitcoin experiences a downturn. Traders are always looking for ways to come up with predictions and analyze the latest metrics in order to determine the best times and strategies, cause when it comes to the best ways on how to purchase Bitcoin, you can’t just start buying and selling. At least not if you expect to get some consistent returns and have a positive experience in the market overall. Knowing about the latest trends associated with the marketplace is very important in this sense, as the decentralized nature of BTC means that news, macroeconomics, and changes in both its own market and those of adjacent assets will have an impact on the price.
The Mining
There’s a maximum amount of Bitcoin that will ever be mined, after which investors will be left with a fixed number of coins. This is important because it is this feature that gave BTC its well-known scarcity, one of the features that made it as profitable as it is today. The fact that there’s a limited number of coins that will ever reach the market makes investors way more willing to add the tokens to their portfolios, fueled by the idea that they’re dealing with something unique that they won’t have the opportunity to make the most of for very long.
As of November 2025, BTC’s total circulating supply crossed 95% of the 21 million hard supply cap. The milestone took almost two decades and means that there’s only 2.05 million Bitcoin out there still waiting to be mined. The other 19.95 million are officially in circulation, and investors have been wondering and debating about what that means. Some economists have said that the milestone is naturally very important for Bitcoin’s larger narrative, as the annual supply inflation is at around 0.8% per year. Having a trustworthy narrative is very important for potential adopters, and this is exactly what Bitcoin could achieve.
While the asset functions as a borderless asset that can be bought or sold right away, the scarcity and authenticity make it fundamentally different from other cryptocurrencies. The most interesting thing that analysts have observed is that Bitcoin still operates as well as it was designed to, and that it has avoided debasement and intervention even seventeen years following its creation and launch.
The Prices
Some have speculated that limiting the entrance of new supply means that the value of each and every single coin will increase as well, since demand grows when supply is choked. However, experts have pointed out that this is unlikely to occur immediately and that the 95% milestone is not likely to change prices in the short term. Instead, it helps validate the narrative that posits Bitcoin as the digital counterpart to gold, highlighting how the core holders lock the limited supply for the long term.
It’s important to remember that the remaining 5% will take more than a century as a result of halving events. Reaching 100% circulation with the increased scarcity can potentially support the prices as well, but many continue to believe that it will be more of a narrative event instead of a price catalyst. In the era of virtually unlimited fiat printing, the fact that Bitcoin can create such a market will definitely continue to have a large impact.
Quantum Computing Risks
While some are already discussing what could occur in the market over the very distant future, others are focusing on what they consider to be more pressing aspects. The most important at the moment appears to be quantum computing, whose ability to crack even the most advanced cryptography features will most likely be quite considerable. Data estimates that around 30% of all the Bitcoin currently in circulation, the rough equivalent of about $600 billion, would be very vulnerable in the event of a quantum attack.
Yet, while some were convinced that the blockchain has only three to five years left in order to come up with a reliable strategy in order to withstand the attack quantum computing could mount against it, some researchers think that two more decades will pass at the very least before quantum ends up being an actual threat to the crypto world. Some predictions actually say that four decades is a more realistic timeframe. The reason for that is that quantum computers are themselves still in their early stages, which means that they’re largely still lacking when it comes to their encryption-breaking capacities. On top of that, they tend to lack in qubit count as well.
The Caltech neutral-atom array, which holds the qubit count record at the moment, has well over 6,000 physical qubits but remains incapable of breaking RSA-2048, which is estimated to only require 4,000 qubits. That’s because this estimation assumes that you’re working with perfect local qubits. But while the current computers can’t crack the current cryptographic standards, experts are still divided when it comes to how long it will actually take for quantum to reach that level (because it inevitably will). Most expect the progress to be quite linear in this field, while others think that a breakthrough is possible as well, given the fact that quantum computing has attracted sizable investments.
If you’re an investor and you’re not sure what should come next for your portfolio, remember to do your research. Knowing what’s going on in the market can help you create a plan that supports your financial well-being over both the short and the long term.
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