In brief:
- The Bitcoin halving has happened.
- The penultimate Bitcoin halving block contains a secret message.
- The message harks at the origins of Bitcoin.
The third Bitcoin halving occured today at 19:23 UTC, cutting the new supply of Bitcoin in half at block 630,000. But inside the penultimate block, 629,999, was a secret message, an homage to the origin of Bitcoin.
"NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed's Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue," the block reads. This text was written in the coinbase transaction, where the miner sends themselves the reward.
The final Bitcoin block with a subsidy of 12.5 BTC was mined by @f2pool_official and contained the following message in its coinbase transaction:
🐟NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed's Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescuehttps://t.co/9dtTrC8YH6
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) May 11, 2020
As Bitcoin diehards know, this isn't the first time that a political statement has been put inside a Bitcoin block. The first ever Bitcoin block, known as the Genesis block, also contained a message.
This was, "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks."
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin, included this message from a Times newspaper article on the day the block was produced. It both timestamped the beginning or Bitcoin and the start of an era.
While the political landscape has changed since then, the defining element of 2020 has been the huge surges in money printing in the US and around the world. Such monetary policy convinced Wall Street legend Paul Tudor Jones to back Bitcoin and put 1-2% of his net worth into it.
DONE ✅
— Bitcoin Halving Countdown (@Bitcoin_Halving) May 11, 2020
F2Pool, which mined the block, included the message to highlight this money printing—and to show that Bitcoin is an alternative. And while the Fed continues to print more dollars, the new supply of Bitcoin has just slowed right down.
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FAQs
The most recent bitcoin halving took place on April 19, 2024. At the time, the reward for each block of mined bitcoin was cut in half from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This event occurs approximately every four years, or more precisely, every 210,000 blocks.
What was the last bitcoin block reward? ›
Bitcoin's fourth halving event has completed, ushering in a new epoch for the network. Bitcoin's block subsidy reward for miners has dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
What is the block reward for the halving? ›
On April 19, 2024, the block reward for bitcoin miners was reduced by half, from 6.25 BTC per mined block to 3.125 BTC per mined block. However, you wouldn't know it from the lack of fanfare. No bells were rung, no fireworks lit up the sky, and the price of bitcoin remained relatively stable at around $64,000.
What block is bitcoin halving? ›
Runes are a Godsend to Miners in Light of Bitcoin's Fourth Halving. Rodamor introduced the Runes protocol at Bitcoin block 840,000 on April 19, which is the same block that marked Bitcoin's fourth Halving.
What will happen when bitcoin halves in 2024? ›
A Bitcoin halving event occurs when the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions is cut in half. Halvings reduce the rate at which new coins are created and thus lower the available amount of new supply. Bitcoin last halved on April 19, 2024, resulting in a block reward of 3.125 BTC.
Will bitcoin rise after halving? ›
Halving reduces the supply of new bitcoins, which should in theory increase the price. It is an economic axiom that if demand for an asset remains stable while its supply decreases, its price should go up.
How many Bitcoin blocks are left? ›
As of 2024, approximately 19.4 million bitcoins have been extracted, indicating that more than 92% of the entire available amount is currently in use. This leaves fewer than 2 million bitcoins yet to be mined.
How long does it take to mine 1 block of Bitcoin? ›
How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin? The reward for mining is 6.25 bitcoins. In April 2024, it will drop to 3.125 bitcoins. It takes the network about 10 minutes to mine one block, so it will take 10 minutes to mine 3.125 bitcoins.
Does Bitcoin halving change the price? ›
While past performance does not guarantee future results, these historical precedents suggest the reduced supply of Bitcoins entering circulation after a halving can lead to increased scarcity and, consequently, higher prices.
Does Bitcoin halving affect other coins? ›
Altcoins (alternative coins), essentially any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, are set to receive a knock-on effect from the halving. The interconnectedness of Bitcoin and altcoins goes well beyond price correlation.
Bitcoin Overview
| Year | Minimum Price | Maximum Price |
|---|
| 2030 | $813,719.62 | $988,657.12 |
| 2031 | $1,222,364.75 | $1,422,536.73 |
| 2032 | $1,750,882.89 | $2,133,236.66 |
| 2033 | $2,476,675.31 | $3,009,208.05 |
8 more rowsThe April 2024 bitcoin halving looks a lot different than the three that came before it. For years, increased competition resulting from new miners coming online has been cutting into profits, because more miners means more people are sharing the same pool of rewards.
Is Bitcoin halving bullish or bearish? ›
Bitcoin Halving Is Not Bullish
The most recent halving in May 2020, for example, came alongside massive monetary and fiscal stimuli surrounding the Covid shutdowns. “I wouldn't give almost any credit to the halving because I don't think the halving is the big driver,” he said. “It's really the big macro factors.”
Will Bitcoin stop halving? ›
For instance, after the first halving, the reward for bitcoin mining dropped to 25 BTC per block. The last halving should occur in 2140. At that point, there will be 21 million BTC in circulation and no more coins will be created. From there, miners will just be paid with transaction fees.
Is Bitcoin Halving real? ›
Halvings happen about every four years, with previous halvings occurring in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Some crypto fans point to price rallies that followed the halvings as a sign that its price will rise following the latest halving – though analysts are skeptical.
How much did bitcoin go up after the last halving? ›
After the 2012, 2016 and 2020 halvings, the bitcoin price ran up about 93x, 30x and 8x, respectively, from its halving day price to its cycle top. The event is a big test for mining companies, however.
Does bitcoin go down after halving? ›
Because the event leads to a cut to rewards paid to miners directly, they'll be the first ones to feel the impact of the halving. The price of bitcoin has touched new all-time highs after each “halving” event. Typically, when the halving cuts supply, it's led to huge rallies for bitcoin.
How many days after bitcoin halving does it hit peak? ›
These peaks are often reached within a year after a halving, riding the wave of reduced supply and heightened demand, before the natural market correction takes hold due to profit-taking and the cyclical nature of investor sentiment.
When was the last to last bitcoin halving? ›
