By
Temitope Olatunji
April 26th, 2024
The 800,000th block was mined by an unknown miner at 11:37 GMT on July 23 and contained 1.63 megabytes, with the price of Bitcoin at $29,815.
The Bitcoin network has crossed another milestone in its history after a user mined its 800,000th block on July 24, 2023. With only 40,000 blocks left until the next Bitcoin halving, the halving event is expected to occur in late 2024.
What Is Bitcoin Halving?
The Bitcoin network is designed to have a halving event every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every four years. The halving is intended for controling Bitcoin inflation and ensuring its scarcity and value increase over time. With every block added, the Bitcoin network makes it harder for scammers and hackers to tamper with previous blocks. It also provides an on-chain record of how transactions take place.
While there is a reward for mining, it reduces by half after every halving event. From 50 BTC as a block reward at Genesis, the mining reward has reduced to 25, 12.5, and 6.25 in 2012, 2016, and 2020, respectively. Likewise, the current mining reward of 6.25 bitcoins per block is expected to halve after the 3.125 bitcoins.
The 800,000th block was mined by an unknown miner at 11:37 GMT on July 23 and contained 1.63 megabytes, with the price of Bitcoin at $29,815.
Reactions to the New Milestone
Following the block mining, many Bitcoin enthusiasts celebrated the milestone on Twitter and Reddit. While some pointed out the milestone proves the resilience and security of the Bitcoin network, one user highlighted that the progress happened all without centralization.
Again, some analysts began to speculate on the potential price of the asset. Historically, Bitcoin halving events often cause a bullish cycle. This may be because it creates a supply shock and consequently increases the demand for Bitcoin. The last two halvings were also precursors to significant price increases in the subsequent months and years.
Despite the history, several others have argued that the halving is already priced in by the market. Instead, they believe factors such as regulation and institutional adoption impact Bitcoin’s price more in the long term. For example, Bitcoin’s most recent rally came because of renewed interest in Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $29,756 per coin, gown by 0.5%, according to Coingecko. It also has a market capitalization of $578.4 billion and maintains its position as the largest cryptocurrency globally.