The Bitcoin halving event is expected to take place in 19 days, and the number of searches for the phrase is at an all-time high on Google.
More People Searching For Bitcoin Halving
The Bitcoin halving event is set to take place on May 12, only 19 days from now and counting. The anticipation leading up to this event is currently high, as the worldwide search for the phrase “Bitcoin halving” using the Google search engine reached its all-time high. At the moment, the phrase is recording an all-time high score of almost 100 on Google Trends.
Every four years, or after 210,000 blocks have been mined, the Bitcoin network undergoes a block reward halving event. When miners mine the Bitcoin blockchain and approve transactions, they are rewarded with new coins after they mine a block. At the moment, the reward for mining a new block on the Bitcoin network is 12.5 BTC. However, the compensation would be slashed into two after the halving event occurs in 19 days. As such, miners would be paid 6.25 BTC for every block of Bitcoin they mine on the network.
The halving event is a mathematical and predictable system created by Satoshi Nakamoto, the developer of Bitcoin. The halving of rewards is intended to make BTC scarce and hard to come by as we approach the 21 million ultimate limit. Currently, the annual inflation rate of BTC stands at 3.6%. However, it would drop to 1.8% after the May 12 halving event.
At the time of this report, there are currently 18,337,650 BTC in circulation, which means we have less than 3 million left of the total 21 million BTC. As the halving event approaches, the number of searches for the term has increased on Google’s search engine. The week of April 5-11 saw the search for the phrase reach 100, and it has maintained that position this week, April 19-25. The term reaching 100 is the highest score any search phrase can get on Google Trends.
Understanding the Bitcoin Halving Event
The surge in the search for the phrase ‘Bitcoin halving’ is currently high because cryptocurrency enthusiasts all over the world are highly anticipating the event. While some veterans have experienced two previous halvings before, new market entrants are learning about it and experiencing it for the first time. As such, the curiosity is pushing the search for Bitcoin halving to new highs.
The Bitcoin halving event is one of the most significant events that affect the direction of the cryptocurrency market. The previous two halving events have all been followed by a bull run, with that of 2016 seeing the BTC price surge to its all-time high of $20,000 in 2017.
With such importance, even institutional investors within the crypto space are interested in the halving event. In a recent survey carried out by Genesis Mining, more than 50% of the mining participants are confident that the BTC price will increase after the halving event. According to some studies, the price rises an average of $12,500 per BTC after each halving.
Institutional investors are also looking forward to the halving event. Renaissance Technologies and its mega-hedge fund called Medallion have recently been given the regulatory approval to offer Bitcoin futures transactions. An increasing number of institutional investors are venturing into the cryptocurrency asset class as they clearly believe in their potential.