What Is Bitcoin Halving?
A blockchain event known as a "halvening" (or "Bitcoin halving") causes block subsidies or rewards for validating transactions to be reduced by half. It is significant because it slows down the rate at which supply enters the market at each point in time, increasing scarcity by bringing fewer and fewer coins or tokens into existence.
These occurrences are foreseen and directly programmed into the code. As an illustration, Bitcoin payouts are set up to diminish roughly every four years. Block rewards have decreased from 12.5 BTCs (1800 BTCs) every block starting 2Q20 to 6.25 BTCs per block (900 BTCs daily). This pattern of rewards reduction every four years will continue until the last Bitcoin is mined in around 2140.
The emission schedule is made more predictable by bitcoin halvings because it is possible to forecast the circulation time at any time. This may make it possible to determine the token valuation precisely. The staking or mining incentives decrement over time in almost all cryptocurrencies that aren't pre-mined by design. In order to improve their initial value, new projects frequently aim to debut with the bare minimum viable supply needed.
2020 marked the third Bitcoin mining cut after those in 2016 and 2012. Due to increased scarcity and a reduction in the supply from miners, each halving was followed by a significant price increase. The price halvings of the alternative coins Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are also noteworthy.
In March 2024, there will be another halving of the Bitcoin currency, which would reduce mining incentives to just 3.125 BTC each block.