Bitcoin Blockchain Has Fourth ‘Halving’ in 15-Year History, in Show of Monetary Policy Set by Code

In simpler terms, just as Soccer is known for the World Cup, Athletics and other sports are associated with the Olympics, and Crypto is distinguished by the Bitcoin halving event.

On Saturdays at 00:09 UTC, every fourth year, the reward for mining a new bitcoin block is reduced in half. This event occurred when block number 840,000 was added to the Bitcoin network’s ledger.

Every 210,000 blocks mined on the Bitcoin network, the reward for adding new blocks is reduced by half as programmed by its mysterious founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, back in 2009.

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Entities are incentivized to add computing power to Bitcoin’s network in order to mine rewards. The miner who successfully adds a new block is then awarded the set reward, which remains unchanged until the next halving event, as programmed by Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Every four years, this significant occurrence holds special meaning for the cryptocurrency world. It represents bitcoin’s founding idea as a self-governing, decentralized financial system with its monetary rules encoded in the system, rather than controlled by human entities such as governments or central banks.

Bitcoins differ from conventional currencies in that they aren’t subject to inflation or devaluation through government printing. Instead, there’s a finite supply of 21 million bitcoins that can ever exist. The creation of new bitcoins is gradually decreasing every four years through a process called halving until all are mined, which is estimated to be around 2140.

In the past, the occurrence of bitcoin’s halvings has typically led to increases in its market value. The rationale behind this is that as fewer new Bitcoin are generated, those already in circulation become more scarce and therefore more valuable. However, there is uncertainty regarding the impact of this latest halving. Some analysts believe that the price adjustment for this event has already been factored into Bitcoin’s current value, meaning its immediate effects might be minimal. Others predict a decline in Bitcoin’s price, while some anticipate an upcoming rally.

After the introduction of the Ordinals protocol last year, Bitcoin’s underlying system has seen a surge in action. Exciting advancements and improvements to the network could lead to significant benefits for Bitcoin’s well-known yet traditional community.