Such wordings as “Bitcoin halving date”, “what is Bitcoin halving”, and “Bitcoin halving countdown” are extremely popular for Google search. Just 2 days are left before the big event. BTC price is below $9,700.
This year, “Bitcoin halving” has been an extremely popular search query for Google. Since the previous record in 2016, when the last halving took place, the frequency of inquiries has grown by as much as 350%. This unprecedented popularity marks a growing interest in Bitcoin and the associated upcoming big event.
As Google Trends show, the “Bitcoin halving” query has reached a 100 level on Google’s scale. In comparison, the previous high of 28 was four years ago. Such associated wordings as “Bitcoin halving date”, “what is Bitcoin halving”, and “Bitcoin halving countdown” are also extremely popular.
As Bitcoin halving is gaining traction, it is obvious that the awareness of the concept itself is spreading. More and more people find an interest in Bitcoin, invest in cryptos, and get involved in crypto-related activities. Notably, institutional investors start participating in crypto-trading as well. For example, Wall Street’s hedge fund Medallion has recently got permission to participate in Bitcoin futures transactions. Its regulatory filing demonstrates fever that institutions have for Bitcoin and the upcoming halving.
Bitcoin Halving 2020 and Its Impact on the Network
Bitcoin halving is a big event during which the reward for mining new blocks is halved. In other words, miners receive 50% fewer bitcoins for verifying transactions. Bitcoin halvings occur once every 210,000 blocks are mined, or approximately every four years, and will take place until the block reward per block becomes zero. This will mean that the maximum supply of 21 million BTC has been generated by the network.
When Bitcoin appeared, the reward was 50 Bitcoins per block. After the first Bitcoin halving in 2012, it was 25 BTC. Then, in 2016, after another halving, the reward dropped to 12.5 BTC.
On May 12, when the number of blocks hits 630,000, a new Bitcoin halving event will take place. The reward for miners will further decrease to 6.25 BTC. Reducing the reward rate, the halving will extend the life of the reward system. Besides, it will definitely influence Bitcoin’s price. As the limited number of new BTC will be decreasing, its price will be growing.
This week, Bitcoin’s price has been soaring amid the big event. On Monday, it rose above $9,000, finally recovering from a recent pull-off. In a couple of days, the BTC price soared above $9,700. Yesterday, it was hovering around $10,000 per coin for the first time since February. Breaking the $10K mark, BTC slightly went down. Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $9,687.54 per coin. Its market cap is $177.8 billion, 24-hours’ trading volume is $47.8 billion.
Daria is an economic student interested in the development of modern technologies. She is eager to know as much as possible about cryptos as she believes they can change our view on finance and the world in general.
