@Ifeoluwa 21 May 2020 more from that month

Third Bitcoin Halving Occurred last Week

Another big topic of discussion was the bitcoin halving that took place last Monday. This is only the third such halving in bitcoin’s 11-year history, the first occurring in November 2012, the second in July 2016. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, a “halving” is an artificial, preprogrammed means to control the supply of bitcoin. It “pumps the brakes” on the issuance and circulation of new units of the cryptocurrency. Before the halving, crypto miners were rewarded with 12.5 bitcoin every time their powerful network of computers solved a complex math problem. Today, though, that reward has been cut in half to 6.25 bitcoin. The next halving will limit the reward to only 3.125 bitcoin, and so on, until all 21 million bitcoin are mined. As of last Thursday, about 18.4 million bitcoin were in circulation, according to Blockchain, meaning there’s only 2.6 million remaining up for grabs.