It Happened: Bitcoin Just Experienced Third Halving in Its History
Bitcoin has just experienced a one-in-four-year event, its third halving, which has cut the miner block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.
The most-anticipated cryptocurrency event of 2020, Bitcoin’s (BTC) third halving, has just taken effect. Occurring only once every four years, the latest Bitcoin mining block reward halving just reduced the Bitcoin block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.
Bitcoin’s third halving event took place at 3:23 PM EST on May 11, according to data from Tradeblock.com. Having overcome the halving, Bitcoin is trading at $8,500, with market dominance of 67% as of press time, according to Coin360.
Bitcoin block reward path from 50 BTC to 0.00000001 BTC
Since the first Bitcoin block was generated back in 2009, there have been three halving events. Taking place once every 210,000 blocks are mined, or approximately once every four years, a Bitcoin halving cuts the current miner block reward by 50%. The first Bitcoin halving event took place in 2012, cutting the original block reward from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. The second halving took place in 2016, with the reward dropping from 25 to 12.5 BTC.
As Bitcoin’s supply is limited to 21 million coins, Bitcoin halving events should continue to take place until the year 2140, or until the 21-millionth BTC. By that time, the block reward should reach 1 satoshi, or the smallest unit of Bitcoin at 0.00000001 BTC. At the time of publication, the number of Bitcoins in circulation amounts to 18.37 million, according to Blockchain.com.
The Bitcoin halving’s impact
As the two previous Bitcoin halvings eventually impacted Bitcoin’s price in a positive way, Bitcoin halvings have become the subject of diverse price predictions and speculation. While some crypto players predicted that the third Bitcoin halving will have no effect on Bitcoin price, others are confident that the halving will definitely affect the price of the cryptocurrency due to a cut in new Bitcoin supply.
While Bitcoin price correlation appears to be questionable, the latest Bitcoin halving has a direct impact on miners. A number of crypto experts predict that the new halving will imminently trigger miners to shut down generating new bitcoins as a wide number of mining devices will become outdated. According to mining pool Poolin Alejandro De La Torre, a number of unprofitable miners have already begun shutting down their equipment before the Bitcoin halving on May 11.
Bitcoin’s halving has just happened, but Cointelegraph’s Bitcoin halving party still continues on YouTube. Check out the schedule and use this link to join.
