Fm Bitcoin convo in weekend, I was most interested in the mining aspect of Bitcoin and its inbuilt scarcity / limits.
The halvingSince its creation in 2009 by a person (or group) using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, rewards for those who “mine” for bitcoin have decreased periodically. The so-called halving is programmed into the bitcoin network and miners are the linchpin for the decentralized network.
Miners validate, or verify transactions on the network, by solving complex problems with computers and are awarded bitcoin in return, as an incentive for supporting the platform.
However, the reward for mining, which was initially at 50 bitcoin back in 2009 and is currently 12.5 coins, will be reduced further, or halved, to 6.25 some time in May. The last bitcoin will be mined sometime in 2140, when the reward for doing so will be a fraction of a bitcoin known as a Satoshi, or 0.00000001 bitcoin.
It isn’t immediately clear how this will impact the price of bitcoins when it finally happens but some speculate that the development could reduce the number of companies and individuals mining for bitcoin, which, in turn, could underpin values for existing coins.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-prices-are-kicking-off-2020-just-like-they-ended-2019-outperforming-the-stock-market-2020-01-14?mod=cryptocurrencies
