Bitcoin has a limit on the maximum possible number of coins – 21 million BTC. It is set by the program code of the Bitcoin blockchain. But as of May 5, 2022, there are only 19.03 million Bitcoins in free market circulation. Every day, cryptocurrency miners slowly increase the supply of BTC by mining. The issue is to receive rewards from the network for finding blocks. But the size of these rewards is periodically reduced – about once every 4 years (every 210 thousand links in the digital chain). This process is called chalving.
Many cryptocurrency information sites have counters for the time until the next reduction in rewards. The bitcoin halving timer helps users keep track of the approximate date when network rewards will decrease. However, calculating the exact time is very difficult.
The concept of halving cryptocurrency
This term appeared in the Russian language as a transliteration of the English word halving – “halving”, “to divide in half”. The concept has a direct meaning and is used to define the halving of rewards. It can occur:
Not all cryptocurrency chains have halving.
Some networks use reduction (from the English word reduction – “shortening”). This is a manual process with no designated periodicity. In this case, developers often reduce rewards not twice, but only by 30-45%.
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Halving mechanism
Halving is one of the most important functions of the Bitcoin blockchain. It is this option that limits the maximum number of BTC and makes the cryptocurrency in question the so-called digital gold.
The function is part of a computer program. Its code is published on the Internet. You can familiarize yourself with the open resources on the Bitcoin Core project page in the GitHub online repository.
The program code of the systematic reward reduction option consists of only 11 short lines. At the same time, 2 of them are comments from the developers.
Halving History
By May 5, 2022, 3 automatic reductions of rewards have been carried out on the Bitcoin chain. Also, participants in the cryptocurrency community know the approximate dates of the next bitcoin halvings. The information is presented in the table below.
| Date | Block height | Amount of rewards, BTC |
|---|---|---|
Impact prediction
Usually bitcoin halving provokes a strong growth of the entire cryptocurrency market.
Often the bullish trend lasts for 2 years and is characterized by the renewal of historical price highs by many popular coins. For example, after the last bitcoin halving on May 11, 2020, 12-13 months later, the price of 1 BTC reached $64,863.
A similar trend was observed after older halving events in 2012 and 2016.
Frequent user questions
❓ Which crypto networks use the reduction?
As of May 5, 2022, it is used by developers of the Ethereum blockchain, for example. By this time, there have been a total of 2 reductions (the first one on October 16, 2017, and the second one on February 28, 2019). The current value of premiums for found blocks is 2 ETH.
❗ When will the last Bitcoin be mined?
According to the Bitcoin halving counter, it will happen in 2140 on block #6,930,000 after the final reduction of premiums to 0 BTC.
💻 How many Bitcoin halwings will there be in total?
In 2140, the thirty-third halving will occur. As a result, the rewards for finding new blocks will become zero as they will be below 1 Satoshi (the smallest Bitcoin value – 0.00000001 Bitcoin).
⏲ How do timers count the time until the next halving?
Usually, different counters use different formulas. But many timers are based on this equation: (halving block – next link height) * 10 minutes.
💲 What is the main purpose of halving?
Bitcoin halving reduces the potential inflation of the respective digital coins.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.
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