21 september 2023
By: JASMINE ANAND
The world’s largest and most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is about 7 months away from its next milestone event. Next year, in April or May, the crypto is expected to have its next 'Halving', although a specific date is unknown.
Bitcoin halving is the process where the reward for mining is cut in half. Currently, those who participate in Bitcoin halving are awarded 6.25 Bitcoins (BTC) for each block successfully mined. However, over time, the effect of each halving will come to an end as the block reward approaches zero.
Approximately, Bitcoin halvings occur every four years, when another 210,000 'blocks' are added to the blockchain. In this event, the rewards to Bitcoin miners get reduced by 50 percent. The main aim of the process is to reduce the number of new Bitcoins in circulation.
Since the inception of Bitcoin, three halvings have taken place so far. * 1st Bitcoin Halving- 28 Nov 2012, rewards reduced to 25 Bitcoins * 2nd Bitcoin Halving-9 July 2016, rewards reduced to 12.5 itcoins * 3rd Bitcoin Halving-11 May 2020, rewards reduced to 6.25 Bitcoins
The next Bitcoin halving is likely to take place in April 2024, when the number of blocks hit 740,000. At this time, the rewards would reduce from 6.25 to 3.125 Bitcoins. However, the exact date of the halving is not known. Further, the subsequent halving, i.e., the fifth halving is expected to be around 2028.
The list does not end here. Bitcoin Halvings will continue to occur after every 210,000 blocks until around 2140 when all 21 million coins will have been mined.