Bitcoin Block Reward Halving

The internet has changed a lot since its inception. It’s revolutionizing the world we live in and the way we live. By the internet, over the years we have been introduced to Search Engines, Social Media Website, Video streaming websites and now Digital Currency. What is digital currency one might ask? Well, a very simple answer would be that it is a type of currency which is used on the internet. One of the most popular digital currency that is making rounds on the internet since 2009 is Bitcoin. Bitcoin was created by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins are extracted using special software called the mining software.
Well then, what is Bitcoin Halving? In simple terms, the user transactions for Bitcoins are grouped in Blocks and recorded to a digital ledger known as blockchain. The people who mine are the in charge of performing this task for which they receive Bitcoins as a mining reward for each block recorded. The amount of Bitcoins rewarded as a mining reward is halved every four years. So this event where the mining reward is divided by two or halved is commonly called Bitcoin Halving.
For the complete understanding of my readers, let me list a few important points to note that are directly related to Bitcoin Halving:
Effects of Halving: The decrease of miner’s reward means that the Bitcoin network would generate Bitcoins at a much slower rate. Considering the demand being constant through the next half of this year and the supplying being cut in half, it can be concluded that the price of Bitcoins should rise until an equilibrium between supply and demand is achieved. Experts have formed a disagreement between themselves that whether or not this supply change is already a factor in the price of Bitcoin.
Price Speculations: It is being speculated that a sharp price increase around the Halving is unreasonable to expect. Although the effect of Halving will start to emerge after a few months of it happening, the price still remains unpredictable. So, we can’t know whether the price would double but it is very considerable to say that the price will rise at least above the current levels.
Why Halve? When will it happen again? As explained earlier, Halving is done to disburse reward among the miners. Halving happens after every four years, it is going to happen this year on 9th of July. It is going to be the second halving, the first was done on 28th November 2012.
Effect on Miners: After the Bitcoin halving, it is important to note that miners will get their reward for Bitcoin mining but then they will have a decreased amount of Bitcoins left to mine.
Recently, it was announced that Bitcoin will no longer be in use in the coming years. So one thinks what could be the best alternatives once Bitcoin disappears from the scene. Let us now consider a few alternative currencies which might take up the place of Bitcoin in the future:
Litecoin: A strong contender to Bitcoin is Litecoin. It’s called as “the silver to Bitcoin’s Gold”. Created in 2011 and priced at $13.53, Litecoin’s confirmations of transactions are processed more quickly with Litecoin than Bitcoin.
Peercoin: Peercoin is marketed as a digital currency which uses less energy and being more environmentally sustainable than many of the other coins on the market. It was created in 2012 and has a price of $3.37.
Namecoin: Created in 2011 and priced at $3.30, Namecoin was created to explore the record-keeping side of the digital currency technology. Namecoin acts as a peer-to-peer, decentralized domain name system for dot-bit domains.
Waves: A relatively new and promising digital currency, announced just this is year is Waves. It is the ultimate crypto-platform for asset/custom token issuance, transfer and trading on blockchain. Its name is derived from the discovery of gravitational waves which represent the gravity which brings communities together. Waves aim to become THE platform for open source development and community projects.