Understanding Bitcoin Halving To explain what a Bitcoin halving is, we must first understand a bit about how the Bitcoin network operates. Bitcoin’s underlying technology, blockchain, basically consists of a collection of computers (or nodes) that run Bitcoin’s software and contain a partial or complete history of transactions occurring on its network. Each full node, or a node containing the entire history of transactions on Bitcoin, is responsible for approving or rejecting a transaction in Bitcoin’s network. To do that, the node conducts a series of checks to ensure that the transaction is valid. These include ensuring that the transaction contains the correct validation parameters, such as nonces, and does not exceed the required length. Each transaction is approved individually. It is said to occur only after all the transactions contained in a block are approved. After approval, the transaction is appended to the existing blockchain and broadcast to other nodes. More computers (or nodes) added to the blockchain increase its stability and security. There are currently 14,616 nodes estimated to be running Bitcoin’s code.1 Although anyone can participate in Bitcoin’s network as a node, as long as they have enough storage to download the entire blockchain and its history of transactions, not all of them are miners. Bitcoin Mining Bitcoin mining is the process by which people use their computers to participate in Bitcoin’s blockchain network as a transaction processor and validator. Bitcoin uses a system called proof of work (PoW). This means that miners must prove they have put forth effort in processing transactions to be rewarded. This effort includes the time and energy it takes to run the computer hardware and solve complex equations. The term mining is not used in a literal sense but as a reference to the way precious metals are gathered. Bitcoin miners solve mathematical problems and confirm the legitimacy of a transaction. They then add these transactions to a block and create chains of these blocks of transactions, forming the blockchain. When a block is filled up with transactions, the miners that processed and confirmed the transactions within the block are rewarded with bitcoins. Transactions of greater monetary value require more confirmations to ensure security.  El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender on June 9, 2021. It is the first country to do so. The cryptocurrency can be used for any transaction where the business can accept it. The U.S. dollar continues to be El Salvador’s primary currency.2 Bitcoin Halving After every 210,000 blocks mined, or roughly every four years, the block reward given to Bitcoin miners for processing transactions is cut in half. This event is referred to as halving because it cuts in half the rate at which new bitcoins are released into circulation. This is Bitcoin’s way of enforcing synthetic price inflation until all bitcoins are released. This rewards system will continue until around the year 2140, when the proposed limit of 21 million is reached. At that point, miners will be rewarded with fees, which network users will pay, for processing transactions. These fees ensure that miners still have the incentive to mine and keep the network going. The halving event is significant because it marks another drop in the rate of new Bitcoins being produced as it approaches its finite supply: the total maximum supply of bitcoins is 21 million. As of October 2021, there are about 18.85 million bitcoins already in circulation, leaving just around 2.15 million left to be released via mining rewards.3 In 2009, the reward for each block in the chain mined was 50 bitcoins. After the first halving, it was 25, and then 12.5, and then it became 6.25 bitcoins per block as of May 11, 2020. To put this in another context, imagine if the amount of gold mined out of the Earth was cut in half every four years. If gold’s value is based on its scarcity, then a “halving” of gold output every four years would theoretically drive its price higher. Coin Metrics Bitcoin Halving Halving Implications Halvings reduce the rate at which new coins are created and thus lower the available amount of new supply, even as demand increases. This has some implications for investors as other assets with low or finite supply, like gold, can have high demand and push prices higher. In the past, these Bitcoin halvings have correlated with massive surges in bitcoin’s price. The first halving, which occurred on Nov. 28, 2012, saw an increase from $12 to $1,217 on Nov. 28, 2013. The second Bitcoin halving occurred on July 9, 2016. The price at that halving was $647, and by Dec. 17, 2017, a bitcoin’s price had soared to $19,800. The price then fell over the course of a year from this peak down to $3,276 on Dec. 17, 2018, a price 506% higher than its pre-halving price.4 The most recent halving occurred on May 11, 2020. On that date, a bitcoin’s price was $8,787. On April 14, 2021, a bitcoin’s price soared to $64,507 (an astonishing 634% increase from its pre-halving price). A month later, on May 11, 2021, a bitcoin’s price was $54,276, representing a 517% increase that seems more consistent with the behavior of the 2016 halving.4 Halving and Its Effects The theory of the halving and the chain reaction that it sets off works something like this: The reward is halved → half the inflation → lower available supply → higher demand → higher price → miners’ incentive still remains, regardless of smaller rewards, as the value of Bitcoin is increased in the process In the event that a halving does not increase demand and price, then miners would have no incentive. The reward for completing transactions would be smaller, and the value of Bitcoin would not be high enough. To prevent this, Bitcoin has a process to change the difficulty it takes to get mining rewards, or in other words, the difficulty of mining a transaction. In the event that the reward has been halved and the value