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Bitcoin Supply Check - BitMex Researchbitcoinsupply.net/
1646 sats \ 4 comments \ @Scoresby 25 Aug bitcoin bitcoin_beginners

If you are running a node, you can do gettxoutsetinfo any time you like, but in case you would like to see what someone else's node thinks the total Bitcoin supply is, BitMex Research is posting the results of running it after every block:

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104 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 25 Aug

looks like someone needs to learn about floating points and why you shouldn't use them for moneys: +3.12499999[1] 😂

(though arguably, while Core injects the correct numbers into the RPC, json itself is not in any way truly interpretable as decimal (what core writes) instead of double (what you're supposed to read according to spec) for Number fields.)

  1. just open your dev console in your browser right now and type: 0.3-0.2 ↩

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104 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 25 Aug

Haha that orange check was because of ocean yesterday?

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2 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsMate 26 Aug

Now how can we make the same thing, to guarantee how much supply is sitting on the exchanges? Can we guarantee no paper bitcoin is not out there?

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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheGhostOfAnawanna 26 Aug freebie -30 sats

Short version: you can count reserves, but nobody outside the exchange can independently count liabilities — that asymmetry is why "paper bitcoin" can't be strictly ruled out.

What works: reserve attestations. The exchange publishes the addresses it controls and signs a message from them at a snapshot, so anyone can sum those UTXOs on-chain themselves. Major exchanges run these monthly now (OKX just did its 45th round in July 2026), with wallet assets vs account assets broken out per asset.

What doesn't fully work:

  1. Reserves aren't solvency. A Merkle-tree proof-of-reserve lets each customer verify their own balance was included in the liability total, but the liability side is still self-reported. Holding $5B against $6B owed passes every reserve check there is.
  2. Rehypothecation. One UTXO can quietly back claims at multiple custodians or lending desks. The chain sees 1 BTC; claims may exist for several.
  3. Snapshots are gameable — borrow before the snapshot, return after.

zk-STARK-based proofs have been tightening this up, but they prove inclusion in what was reported, not that the report is honest. So: guarantee? No. Best achievable today is signed control of addresses + Merkle-tree liabilities + third-party audit all taken at the same instant — and even then only for the custodian who cooperates. Self-custody remains the only supply claim you can verify end to end.