The countdown begins to the 18 millionth Bitcoin (BTC) that is expected to be mined on Friday.

The most popular cryptocurrency currently has 17,998,550 Bitcoin in existence, as of press time -- a few thousand away from 18 million. At a rate of 1,800 BTC mined daily, the 18 millionth is on track to be in circulation by Friday.

After this, there are just three million left to be mined from a total of 21 million Bitcoin. Notably, it is said that about 14 to 19 percent of BTC is gone or lost forever. There are also stolen coins, and some hundred thousand stashed away by Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person believed to have created Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Halving

In May 2020, the scheduled "Bitcoin halving" will take place wherein the reward for Bitcoin miners for solving a block that connects transactions will be down to 6.25 from 12.5 Bitcoins.

Then, there will be about 376,562.5 left to mine when the next halving occurs, which is due every four years. The code in BTC is designed in such a way that limits the production of the cryptocurrency homologizing it to gold, which opposes how the fiat money is easily printed.

More than a decade of mining

It is estimated that it will take 120 years until the last Bitcoin is mined. As explained by EO.Finance in a tweet: "In just a week, the 18 millionth coin will be mined on the Bitcoin network. It will take another 120 years to get the remaining 14.3% of the total supply. In May 2020, the Bitcoin halving will take place doubling the mining difficulty."

Bitcoin Price

The scheduled halving of Bitcoin next year also drew some astronomic price projections with one German Bank, Bayerische Landesbank, predicting a $90,000 Bitcoin -- other investors estimate it to be higher.

The possible logic behind the rise of Bitcoin's price is rooted in its limited supply. Miners will be forced to increase the rate they sell the BTC they own since they are receiving a far lesser compensation.

So far, the market capitalization of Bitcoin stands at $141.87 billion and $7,899.59 per BTC, according to Coindesk. If somehow the $90,000 price materializes and BTC skyrockets in the next seven months, then that would mean a trillion-dollar market cap for Bitcoin next year is imminent.

Photo: Getty Images/Dan Kitwood