What Is Bitcoin Halving?

The Bitcoin Halving takes place about every four years and reduces the block reward by 50%. This lowers the supply of bitcoins entering the market, which increases scarcity and can act to raise its price if market conditions remain the same.

Block rewards are part of the blockchain's automatic process of validating transactions and opening new blocks (called mining). Miners, participants who compete in a race to solve a cryptographic puzzle, are given new bitcoins if they are the first to solve it.

Their block is added to the blockchain, they receive a reward, and the network starts another race. All miners confirm the data in the newly added block while trying to solve the puzzle for their own new blocks, hoping for an ever-decreasing reward.

Is Bitcoin Halving a Good Thing?

There are several reasons Bitcoin halvings are considered by many to be good for the cryptocurrency's ecosystem and market value. For others, it might not be such a good thing.