News - Only 15,000 blocks to go until Bitcoin halving
While everyone is enthusiastically discussing the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, the countdown to the long-awaited halving of the Bitcoin. In about 99 days, it will finally happen.
Halving results in a 50 percent reduction in block rewards for Bitcoin miners. Halvings occur every 210,000 blocks as part of the Proof-of-Work consensus process and will continue at this interval until approximately the year 2140, when the last Bitcoin is mined.
Currently, about 900 Bitcoin are mined every day. After the halving, this number will drop to 450 Bitcoin per day. Bitcoin enthusiasts are also looking forward to the event because halving in the past often ushered in a new bull market.
After halving, Bitcoin's inflation rate drops to only about 0.9 percent. Bitcoin is officially worth more than gold, which currently has an inflation rate of about 1.7 percent. About 90 percent of all Bitcoin has already been mined.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin's halving raises concerns about the profitability of mining companies because they will earn only 3.125 BTC per block instead of the current 6.25 BTC. Thus, running a profitable mining business will become even more challenging after the halving.
However, many insiders in the cryptoscene remain bullish. Technology company MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR), for example, led by permabull Michael Saylor, increased are Bitcoin purchases anticipating the upcoming halving.
However, some experts warn of the possibility of a "sell-the-news" event. If everyone has now internalized the story of the halving and even the mainstream press is speculating about rising stock prices after the event, the information probably could have been priced in a long time ago.