With Bitcoin prices soaring to more than $60,000 in March this year, the cryptocurrency is about to enter a halving period expected in April, which will slow production of new bitcoin and perhaps raise the price even further.
According to Money, there are a finite number of bitcoins that can be mined — 21 million. There are about 19.6 million currently in circulation, which means about 1.4 million coins have yet to be mined.
Bitcoin mining is a term used to describe how individual computers can be set to solve complex mathematical equations. The person who owns the computer is the bitcoin miner. If the computer solves the equation, the bitcoin network rewards the miner with a bitcoin, which fluctuates in value, though some experts predict it could hit $400,000 in 2024. Anyone with a computer can be a miner, but it is increasingly difficult mine a bitcoin.
Since 2020, a successful miner has received 6.25 bitcoins. But when the halving event occurs, successful miners will only receive 3.125 bitoins.
The halving events occur every four years until all the 21 million bitcoins are mined, but there is no exact date for the halving. It happens only after 210,000 blocks on the bitcoin blockchain have been filled with data, which takes about four years.
