N Rotteveel/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) experienced its fourth halving late Friday following a quadrennial software update to the blockchain, marking a highly anticipated catalyst for the world's best-known cryptocurrency.
With the 840,000th block posted on the Bitcoin blockchain, so-called mining rewards are offered Payments to miners for validating transactions were halved, resulting in a significant drop in new coins issued.
Analytics site Blockchain.com confirmed that the change took effect at 8:10 p.m., an event that could reduce Bitcoin miner rewards from 6.25 BTC per block mined to 3,125 BTC.
The entire halving process should end at 9:40 p.m. Ahead of the event, HC Wainwright analyst Mike Colonnese predicted that the halving could have a positive impact on the price of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) due to supply-side constraints.
However, citing geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns, he did not rule out near-term pressure on mining stocks (MARA), (RIOT), (HUT), (HIVE), (BTBT) and (BITF).
Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers