According to CoinMeta, as the next Bitcoin halving event approaches, Zhao Changpeng (CZ), the founder of Binance, has reignited discussions about the scarcity of Bitcoin. In a post he published earlier today, he emphasized that Bitcoin is a deflationary asset, and its available supply may actually be lower than expected. According to his estimates, as of August 2026, over 20.07 million Bitcoins have been mined, with only 4.4% remaining of the total supply cap of 21 million. CZ mentioned that the number of Bitcoins available in the market may be lower than this figure, suggesting that the scarcity of Bitcoin could be higher than commonly claimed. He further estimated that 10% to 20% of the available Bitcoin supply could be lost, stuck, or permanently unavailable due to various factors, including Bitcoins in wallets whose private keys have been lost or whose funds are inaccessible. Therefore, CZ warns that the actual number of Bitcoins that potential traders can buy, sell, or transfer may be far lower than the total amount that has been mined.