Bitcoin halving may arrive sooner than expected

Rising Bitcoin hashrate: Right before Bitcoin's much-anticipated halving event, expected to take place in coming month, Bitcoin blockchain is witnessing a strong surge in its hashrate that may le Bitcoin halving to occur sooner than market expectations. 

Mining companies are capitalising on bullish trends in market by bringing new, more powerful rigs online and reactivating older machines, reby driving up network's hashrate, according to reports from CoinDesk.  

But what does Bitcoin halving mean? And why is Bitcoin hashrate rising? In this report, we will dive deeper to explain phenomenon and reasons behind halving rush. 

Bitcoin halving explained

Bitcoin halving is an event programmed into Bitcoin protocol that occurs approximately every four years, or after every 210,000 blocks mined. During this event, reward given to Bitcoin miners for validating transactions on network is halved. 

This means that rate at which new Bitcoin is created decreases by half, reducing overall supply of Bitcoin entering circulation. purpose of halving is to control inflation and ensure scarcity of Bitcoin over time, similar to how precious metals like gold are mined at a decreasing rate. Looking forward to 2024, new halving set to reduce mining reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.

As a result, Bitcoin’s halving is often anticipated by investors and trers, as it historically has led to an increase in value of Bitcoin due to its reduced supply and increasing demand. 

What is Bitcoin hashrate and how is it calculated? 

Bitcoin hashrate refers to computational power expended by miners to secure and validate transactions on Bitcoin network. It represents speed at which miners collectively solve complex mamatical puzzles to d new blocks to blockchain. 

Hashrate is measured in hashes per second (H/s), or more commonly in exahashes per second (EH/s) for Bitcoin, indicating billions of hashes per second.

Bitcoin hashrate chart (1-year) | Image credit: CoinWarz

calculation of Bitcoin hashrate involves estimating total computational power of network by analysing number of hashes performed per second by all miners. This calculation typically relies on data from mining pools and specialised hardware, such as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), which are optimised for Bitcoin mining. 

Bitcoin hashrate unites | Image credit: CoinWarz

As more miners join network or upgre ir equipment, hashrate increases, enhancing network security and efficiency. Conversely, fluctuations in hashrate can impact transaction processing times and overall stability of Bitcoin network.

Can Bitcoin halving occur earlier than expected? 

Yes. Bitcoin’s block reward halving will happen whenever 8,40,000th block is ded to blockchain and it has nothing to do with any specific date. 

Image credit: Nicehash’s Countdown

Bitcoin blockchain still needs to d 4,391 blocks to blockchain to reach halving mark and if hashrate continues to increase in coming days, mark will be reached sooner. 

Mining companies are investing in newer, more powerful equipment, such as latest Antminer S21s, which nearly double hash rate per slot compared to previous models like S19 series.

Initially, halving was scheduled for April 28 and as per current hashrate, it is expected to take place around April 15, according to Nicehash's countdown and it may vary depending upon blockchain hashrate at particular time. 

Halvings occur every 210,000 blocks, approximately once every four years, though occasional difficulty justments are me to maintain consistency. However, during bullish periods, blockchain's pace can accelerate. As cryptocurrency's price rises, mining rewards become more lucrative, incentivising more operators to increase ir computational power.