Bitcoin's much talked-about halving just happened, and another one is already on the horizon. Here's when to expect it
The much-talked about quadrennial event baked into Bitcoin’s code happens every four years, approximately. The first one took place in November 2012, the second in July 2016, the third in May 2020, and the latest was just on Friday—April 19, 2024.
And with the fourth one down, the next one is already scheduled when another 210,000 blocks are mined—which is expected sometime in 2028, though the exact month and date will depend on the rate of network activity.
The event happens every four years as was designed as a feature of Bitcoin to make it deflationary: As only 21 million Bitcoin can ever be created, the halving will make sure that as time goes on, it becomes more difficult to make new virtual coins.
Miners, or power-hungry operations that process transactions on the network, are rewarded with Bitcoin for minting new coins. Friday's event just cut rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC for each block they process.
This means miners will have to work more efficiently to operate. It also means that less Bitcoin will be added to the market going forward. The next halving in 2028 will slash rewards even more to 1.5625 BTC per block that’s mined.
Some experts in the industry told Decrypt that they believe that each halving will raise the asset’s long-term price as it will make it scarcer.
And history shows that they might be right: one year to 18 months after the previous three halvings, Bitcoin’s price has only risen—and significantly.
Bitcoin’s price has been battered recently, though. After touching a new all-time high of $73,737 last month, it has since plunged below its 2021 high of $69,044.
But experts in the space have said that that volatility and even big price dips ahead of the halving is normal.