💥 What exactly is Bitcoin "halving"? Why does it shake up the entire market every time?

It's a long story, but it's extremely crucial—about every four years, the Bitcoin network automatically cuts miners' block rewards in half. Sounds harsh? Actually, it's one of the most ingenious designs in the crypto world.

🔥 How does the halving mechanism work?

Every time the Bitcoin system produces 210,000 blocks (roughly every four years), a halving event is triggered. The reward miners get for mining a block is instantly slashed in half:

• First halving in 2012: 50 coins → 25 coins
• Second halving in 2016: 25 coins → 12.5 coins
• Third halving in 2020: 12.5 coins → 6.25 coins
• Latest halving in 2024: 6.25 coins → 3.125 coins

The rewards keep decreasing, meaning the new supply of Bitcoin entering the market continues to drop.

💡 What's the point of this design?

It's not a flaw—it's the "time bomb" Satoshi Nakamoto embedded from the very beginning.

The total supply of Bitcoin is hard-coded at 21 million coins—it will never be more. To maintain this scarcity, the issuance of new coins has to slow down over time—just like gold mining: after the shallow mines are depleted, the deeper ones become harder to extract. The scarcer it is, the more valuable it becomes. That's also where the term "digital gold" comes from.

📉 What kinds of waves does halving create?

• Inflation rate plummets: new supply drops sharply
• Supply-demand imbalance: fewer coins available on the market
• Scarcity narrative strengthens: long-term holders gain confidence
• Historical pattern: each previous halving has been followed by major market cycles (though not guaranteed, the data is there)

Put simply—halving turns time into Bitcoin's ally in value.