What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security and operates on a decentralized network called blockchain. It was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009. Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain, and new bitcoins are created through a process called mining, where participants use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles. Bitcoin can be used for various purposes, including online purchases, investment, and as a store of value. Its decentralized nature means it is not controlled by any single authority, like a government or financial institution.
Last Haveling
The last Bitcoin halving occurred on May 11, 2020. During this event, the block reward for miners was reduced from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. It's an important event in Bitcoin's protocol that happens roughly every four years to control the supply of new coins.
Bitcoin halving: When will it happen and what does it mean for the price?
LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - As bitcoin's price reaches new heights, attention is turning to its upcoming "halving" and whether it is playing a role in its ascent. Depending on where you sit, the halving is a vital event that will burnish bitcoin's value as an increasingly scarce commodity, or nothing more than a technical change talked up by speculators to inflate its price.
WHAT IS IT?
The halving is a change in bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology, designed to reduce the rate at which new bitcoins are created.
Bitcoin was designed from its inception by its pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto to have a capped supply of 21 million tokens. Nakamoto wrote the halving into bitcoin's code and it works by reducing the rate at which new bitcoin are released into circulation. So far, about 19 million tokens have been released. HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? Blockchain technology involves creating records of information - called 'blocks' - which are added to the chain in a process called 'mining'. Miners use computing power to solve complex mathematical puzzles to build the blockchain and earn rewards in the form of new bitcoin.
At the halving, the amount of bitcoin available as rewards for miners is cut in half. This makes mining less profitable and slows the production of new bitcoins.