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Halving is a significant event that occurs approximately every four years and halves the reward for mining new blocks. Given the significance of this development, many crypto investors are already in the “Bitcoin halving countdown.” The next Bitcoin halving is expected to take place on or around April 20th.
What is Bitcoin Halving?
This mechanism is built into the Bitcoin code to control the creation of new Bitcoins and ensure that the total supply never exceeds 21 million.
The halving is intended to mimic the effect that gold mining becomes increasingly difficult over time, thus leading to a shortage of the digital currency. As the mining reward decreases, the rate at which new Bitcoins come into circulation slows, which can impact the Bitcoin price due to reduced supply.
Historically, halving events have caused Bitcoin prices to rise because the reduced supply of new Bitcoins coming into circulation makes existing coins more valuable, assuming demand remains constant or increases.
Ken Timsit, CEO of Cronos Labs, commented on the upcoming Bitcoin halving event.
“The process is becoming less about the mechanics and more about the expectations and the narrative that the supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million,” he told Investing.com.
He added that in the past, halvings have resulted in reduced selling pressure from validators and subsequent price increases. He also highlighted the growing anticipation of bull runs and the importance of the scarcity narrative to the market's dynamics.
It's not just about the Bitcoin price
Concerns about the Bitcoin halving go beyond the usual price speculation and also include its impact on the security of the network. The process not only reduces the speed of new Bitcoin creation, but also raises questions about the network's resilience to security threats.
Experts point out that reducing mining rewards could lead to smaller miners exiting the market. This withdrawal can result in lower hash rates, a measure of the computing power used to validate and secure transactions on the blockchain.
A reduced hash rate could theoretically make Bitcoin more vulnerable to attacks, including the dreaded 51 percent attack, in which a single entity could gain control of the majority of mining power and manipulate the network.
Despite these concerns, Timsit believes that the next Bitcoin halving will further solidify the crypto community's trust in the reliability of blockchain technology and its governance through immutable code. “It is a reinforcement of the principle that code is law, which is unprecedented in human history,” he explained.
Timsit also discussed the positive impact on adoption and sentiment towards various blockchain networks.
Given the increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin, Timsit noted that regulatory uncertainty poses a major challenge to the wider adoption and integration of cryptocurrencies.
“Today, the biggest challenge in Web3 adoption is the lack of regulatory certainty, particularly in the US, despite encouraging progress in other regions.”
“A first step towards solving this problem would be for all countries to require users to adopt regulated crypto exchanges for fiat/crypto conversions. This would help debunk the myth that Web3 platforms enable money laundering,” Timsit added.
The bottom line is that the crypto expert sees enormous opportunities and points to advances in blockchain technology that enable faster transactions, lower fees and carbon neutrality.
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