The clock is ticking on bitcoin and bitcoin miners, with the cryptocurrency's hotly anticipated halving event just days away. But how will investors know exactly when the halving occurs?
Halving events reduce by 50% the amount of crypto rewards doled out to miners. The practice was set out by Satoshi Nakamoto, the cryptocurrency's reputed creator, in the original bitcoin white paper published in 2008. Bitcoin "miners" get rewards for verifying its transactions and creating blocks. In the process, they also "create" bitcoins.
Halving the mining reward helps control the supply of bitcoins, which has a maximum limit of 21 million bitcoins. Some refer to the events as "halvenings," a blend of "halving" and "happening."
The upcoming halving is expected to occur between April 18 and April 21. It will cut mining rewards to 3.125 bitcoin per block. The last bitcoin halving event occurred in May 2020, when mining rewards fell to 6.25 bitcoin per block mined, down from 12.5 bitcoin per block.
How To Know When The Halving Occurs
Halving events occur after every 210,000 bitcoins are mined, which takes roughly four years. The price of bitcoin has historically risen in the months after halving events as demand remains largely the same, while decreased mining rewards mean the creation of new bitcoins slows.
There are less than 360 blocks to mine before the next halving event, with more than 99.8% of blocks mined until the next halving, data from Mempool.space showed Wednesday morning. Mempool.space tracks block mining activity for the bitcoin network, and it's a handy tool for those interested in just when the halving occurs.
The network is producing new blocks at an average of 9 minutes and 21 seconds, according to bitcoin statistics site Bitaps. At the current mining rate, the halving will occur Friday night.
Meanwhile, analysts are conflicted about the impact the halving will have on bitcoin's price. Some predict the supply shock will propel bitcoin higher. While others believe the market already priced in this year's halving.
Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin early Wednesday slid back to $62,200 from its 24-hour high of $64,465.
On March 14 bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $73,798, surpassing its prior peak of $68,990 set in November 2021.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rebounded about 157% in 2023. Bitcoin jumped about 48% so far this year, with most of the gains compounded in February and March.
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