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Bitcoin Halving

Bitcoin Halving

Explore the latest news about Bitcoin Halving, stay up to date on the major developments related to the event, check expert insights, Bitcoin (BTC) price forecasts and more.

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Bitcoin Halving

Bitcoin Halving is a significant event that halves the number of new Bitcoins that miners can produce per block. It happens only once in about every four years, which is when every 210,000 blocks are reached by miners.

The supply of Bitcoin is finite as its network would stop producing more coins once the twenty one-millionth bitcoin is mined. At this point, there would be a limited amount of bitcoin in circulation, that’s why bitcoin is often referred to as digital gold.

BTC Halving Dates

First BTC Halvening: The 2012 Event

As the first of its kind, the 2012 block halving happened at the 210,000th block.

  • BTC Per Block Before 2012 Halving: 50 BTC per block
  • BTC Per Block After 2012 Halving: 25 BTC per block

Second BTC Halvening: The 2016 Event

The second block halving happened at the 420,000th block.

  • BTC Per Block Before 2016 Halving: 25 BTC per block
  • BTC Per Block After 2016 Halving: 12.5 BTC per block

In 2020 the event, which is expected to take place on May 14, will consequently reduce the supply of bitcoins as miners would get 6.25 bitcoins per block mined, this number was 50 before the first halving that took place in 2012.

However, it is important to note that the event is not scheduled based on date, instead, it is scheduled in block height. After the second halvening that happened in 2016, the miner’s reward per block reduced from 25 to 12.5, which is still the current miner’s reward per block.

Bitcoin Halving Chart

BTC halving decreases the number of new bitcoins generated per block. This means the supply of new bitcoins is lowered by 50% given the same mining capacity.

One of the major advantages of BTC halving its ability to reduce Bitcoin’s inflation rate. The May 2020 bitcoin halving is expected to be the third halving event since bitcoin’s inception in 2009. This means that the halving will take place on the 630,000th block. The fourth halving, which is expected to happen sometime between April and June 2024, will occur at block 840,000.

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FAQ on Bitcoin Halving

What is the Bitcoin Halving?

Bitcoin Halving is a significant event that halves the number of new Bitcoins that miners can produce per block. Bitcoin Halving happens only once in about every four years, which is when every 210,000 blocks are reached by miners.

The supply of Bitcoin is finite as its network would stop producing more coins once the twenty one-millionth bitcoin is mined. At this point, there would be a limited amount of bitcoin in circulation, that’s why bitcoin is often referred to as digital gold.

When was the Last Bitcoin Halving?

The last bitcoin halving event was the second of its kind and it occurred on Saturday, 9th of July 2016 at block 420,000. The halving saw miners’ reward per block decrease from 25 to 12.5.

What is Bitcoin Halving 2020?

The 2020 Bitcoin halving will take place at the 630,000th block and is predicted to happen on the 12th of May, 2020. Consequently, miner’s reward per block would decrease by half from 12.5 to 6.25. This halving is expected to lead to a major increase in demand for bitcoin as its supply would see a significant decrease after the halving event.

Will Bitcoin Halving Increase Price?

At every point of the bitcoin halving events, speculations of Bitcoin’s price rising keeps making the news. Bitcoin is often called digital gold because its supply reduces with time and for the fact that there could only be 21 million bitcoins created. Halving reduces the circulation of bitcoins and the digital asset becomes rarer. BTC’s price was $12 before the first halving event in 2012, this increased to $130 just three months after. In a similar fashion, Bitcoin’s price increased from $651 to $760 three months after the second halving event of 2016. Judging, from the previous events, one wouldn’t be off the grid to predict that the value of Bitcoin could rise after the forthcoming 2020’s bitcoin halving.