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Bitcoin halving event is a significant occurrence in the cryptocurrency space that happens about every four years, reducing the reward miners receive for verifying transactions on the Bitcoin network. As the name suggests, a Bitcoin halving event cuts the rewards for miners who extract Bitcoin blocks and add transactions to the Bitcoin ecosystem in half. The process is hardcoded into the Bitcoin protocol to control the supply of Bitcoin and maintain a state of scarcity and limited supply.
Bitcoin and the Halving Process
Bitcoin operates on a decentralized computer network known as nodes. Bitcoin mining is the process of creating valid blocks that add transaction records to Bitcoin’s public and decentralized ledger. Miners play a crucial role in securing and verifying transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain network. In return for their efforts, miners are rewarded with newly created Bitcoin.
Bitcoin mining uses hardware to solve complex mathematical problems that validate and secure transactions on the network. Miners use computational power to compete and solve these puzzles, with the first to do so adding a new transaction block to the blockchain ecosystem.
The Bitcoin halving event refers to the reduction of the reward given to miners for solving complex mathematical problems and validating transactions in the Bitcoin blockchain ecosystem. It is a mechanism placed into the Bitcoin protocol by Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and occurs roughly every four years.
Initially, miners received a reward of 50 Bitcoin for every block they added to the blockchain ecosystem when Bitcoin was first introduced to the market. The reward dropped to 25 Bitcoin at the first halving event and was further reduced to 12.5 Bitcoin and 6.25 Bitcoin after the subsequent halving events in 2016 and 2020, respectively. It will drop to 3.125 Bitcoin in April 2024 and will continue until all 21 million Bitcoins are mined.
Reducing mining rewards controls the issuance of new Bitcoins and mimics the scarcity characteristics of precious metals like gold. The Bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million, and as mining new Bitcoin becomes increasingly difficult and resource-intensive, the issuance rate slows down, creating scarcity and potentially increasing the value of each Bitcoin.
Key Details About the Halving Event
Although the timing of the next halving event is uncertain since the Bitcoin algorithm governs its occurrence based on block creation, experts point to a likely date around April 2024, close to the historical four-year cycle.
The last halving event is expected to occur in the year 2140, when the number of Bitcoins in circulation reaches the maximum supply of 21 million. At this point, no new Bitcoins will be mined. The Bitcoin halving event is designed to be somewhat predictable to avoid significant disruptions in the network. Nevertheless, high volatilities in Bitcoin prices are often seen before and after halving events.
