CRYPTOCURRENCY BITCOIN
Bitcoin Halving
By LUKE CONWAY Reviewed by ERIKA RASURE Updated May 21, 2021
What Is a Bitcoin Halving?
Bitcoin's most recent halving occurred on May 11, 2020. To explain what a Bitcoin Halving is, we must first explain a bit about how the Bitcoin network operates.
Bitcoin's underlying technology, blockchain, basically consists of a collection of computers, or nodes, that run Bitcoin's software and contain a partial or complete history of transactions occurring on its network. Each full node, or a node containing the entire history of transactions on Bitcoin, is responsible for approving or rejecting a transaction in Bitcoin's network. To do that, the node conducts a series of checks to ensure that the transaction is valid. These include ensuring that the transaction contains the correct validation parameters, such as nonces, and does not exceed the required length.
A transaction occurs only after all the parties operating in Bitcoin's network approve it within the block that the transaction exists in. After approval, the transaction is appended to the existing blockchain and broadcast to other nodes. The blockchain serves as a pseudonymous record of transactions i.e., its contents are visible to everyone but it is difficult to identify transacting parties in the network. This is because the blockchain assigns encrypted addresses to each transacting party in the network. That said, even those who do not participate in the network as a node or miner can view these transactions taking place live by looking at block explorers.
More computers, or nodes, added to the blockchain increase its stability and security. There are currently 9,704 nodes estimated to be running Bitcoin's code.1 While anyone can participate in Bitcoin's network as a node, as long as they have enough storage to download the entire blockchain and its history of transactions, not all of them are miners.
Source:
https://www.investopedia.com/bitcoin-halving-4843769#:~:text=The%20first%20Bitcoin%20halving%20occurred,in%20the%20Spring%20of%202024.