AKA, the halvening, OK maybe it’s just me that calls it that, but don’t worry; it’s not that scary. The bitcoin halvening is a feature embedded in the code. As we mine bitcoin the reward for doing so is set at a fixed amount. When bitcoin started the rewards were 50 bitcoin and it halved every 210,000 blocks added to the blockchain. Blocks are added as code to be solved every 10 minutes. Blocks are the life blood of the bitcoin blockchain. Every time a transaction is requested (whether you are buying or transfering bitcoin or using bitcoin to buy a coffee, burger or a house) the blockchain solves and we get a public consensus of the exchange.
The 210,000 blocks take approximately 4 years to create and the halvening coincides with that time frame.
The first halvening was November 28, 2012 and rewards dropped to 25 bitcoin. The price was around $11
The second halvening was July 2016; again the rewards dropped to 12.5 bitcoin. The price at that time was $600-700
The third halvening will be in May 2020, with rewards dropping to 6.5 bitcoin. The current price is holding at just under $10,00
The maximum number of bitcoin supply is 21,000,000. Currently, there are approximately 17,000,000 in circulation, leaving 15% left for the rest of us. Scarcity and the decentralized nature of bitcoin is what will be the main driver of price increases.
