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A bitcoin halving is imminent. Here’s what that means.
Bitcoin is expected to go through a “halving” within the next day or two, a preprogrammed event that could impact production of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
A halving, which occurs about every four years, was designed by bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, to effectively reduce by half the reward that miners of the digital token receive approximately every four years, or whenever a certain number of blocks are added to the blockchain. The idea is that by cutting in half the amount of bitcoin miners currently receive for their efforts, fewer bitcoins will enter the market, creating more scarcity of the cryptocurrency.
That’s sparked some speculation that the halving could cause a surge in demand and push up the price of bitcoin, which has already risen almost 50% since year start. Much of the credit for bitcoin’s recent rally is given to the early success of a new way to invest in the asset — spot bitcoin ETFs, which were only approved by U.S. regulators in January.
Here’s what to know about bitcoin’s “halving.”
What exactly is bitcoin “halving”?
Bitcoin miners get a fixed reward when they successfully validate a new block on the bitcoin blockchain. That reward is currently 6.25 bitcoin, worth about $402,000, based on today’s trading price for the token.
After the halving, miners will receive 3.125 bitcoin for achieving the same goal. As a result, the rate at which new bitcoins enter the market should also fall, slowing the supply of coins. According to limits set by Satoshi Nakamoto, only a maximum of 21 million bitcoins will ever exist, of which more than 19.5 million have already been mined, leaving fewer than 1.5 million left to be created.
When was the last bitcoin halving?
The last such event happened in May 2020, when bitcoin’s price stood at around $8,602, according to CoinMarketCap.
By May 2021, the value of bitcoin had surged almost seven-fold to almost $57,000.
When will the next halving occur?
Halving is scheduled to occur regularly after the creation of every 210,000 “blocks” — where transactions are recorded — during the mining process, that are added to the blockchain.
While there aren’t any set calendar dates for this to occur, it generally works out to roughly once every four years. The latest estimates expect the next halving to occur sometime late Friday or early Saturday.
What do expert say could happen with bitcoin’s price after the next halving?
Some believe that it will be a non-event for bitcoin’s price because the cryptocurrency has already experienced a big run-up this year.
“Investors, traders and speculators priced-in the halving months ago,” said Nigel Green, the CEO of financial services firm deVere Group, in an email. “As a result, a significant portion of the positive economic impact was experienced previously, driving up prices to fresh all-time highs last month.”
Still, others say that bitcoin could get a bump, at least longer-term. Growing demand due to the new ETFs, combined with the supply shock of the next halving, could help push bitcoin’s price even higher, said Bitwise senior crypto research analyst Ryan Rasmussen.
“We would expect the price of bitcoin to have a strong performance over the next 12 months,” he said. Rasmussen notes that he’s seen some predict gains reaching as high as $400,000, but the more “consensus estimate” is closer to the $100,000-$175,000 range.
What is the halving’s impact on bitcoin miners?
Miners will likely be pressed to become more energy efficient, or may need to raise new capital, experts said.
In its recent research report, Bitwise found that total miner revenue slumped one month after each of the three previous halvings. But those figures had rebounded significantly after a full year, thanks to spikes in the price of bitcoin as well as larger miners expanding their operations.
Time will tell how mining companies fare following this next looming halving. But Rasmussen is betting that big players will continue to expand and utilize the industry’s technology advances to make operations more efficient.
—With reporting by the Associated Press.
A new Barbie has joined Mattel’s lineup of inclusive dolls. The first “Diwali doll” was announced by the toymaker on Friday, a few weeks shy of the Hindu holiday of Diwali, also known as the festival of lights.
The festival, which lasts for five days, is marked on Western calendars to begin on Nov. 1, but some celebrations start on Oct. 31.
The doll, created in collaboration with fashion designer Anita Dongre, features traditional elements including the lehenga skirt, floral print and golden shoes, according to Mattel’s website. The doll is available at major retailers for $40.
“The look is infused with beauty and symbolism to rejoice in victory of light over darkness with contemporary silhouettes,” the description reads for the Diwali doll.
Lalit Agarwal, country manager for Mattel India, said in a news release that through the Diwali doll, the brand is hoping to showcase “India’s vibrant cultural heritage on a global stage while continuing to celebrate the power and beauty of diversity.”
Earlier this year, Mattel announced the first-ever blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie with Down syndrome.
In addition, to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and Barbie’s 65th birthday on March 9, the doll brand announced it was adding new dolls to its Role Models collection, based on real-life singers and actresses from around the world. They’re not for sale – a one-of-a-kind doll was made for each of the honored women.
The dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything,” according to Mattel.
Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“The Matrix” star, who qualified 31st out of 35 cars, ran as high as 21st before a single-car crash a little more than halfway through the 45-minute race briefly stopped him in his tracks.
Darron Cummings / AP
The 60-year-old spun into the grass without a collision on the exit of Turn 9 when he had about 21 minutes of racing left. He re-entered the course and continued driving, signaling he was uninjured.
Reeves finished 25th.
The actor is competing at Indianapolis in the Toyota GR Cup, a Toyota spec-racing series and a support series for this weekend’s Indy 8 Hour sports car event. He has a second race on Sunday.
Darron Cummings / AP
He is driving the No. 92 BRZRKR car, which is promoting his graphic novel “The Book of Elsewhere.” He is teammates with Cody Jones from “Dude Perfect.”
Reeves has previous racing experience as a former participant in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the celebrity race. Reeves won the event in 2009.
A passenger successfully landed a small plane on Friday after the pilot had a medical emergency, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 was traveling from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada to Monterey Regional Airport in California, with a pilot and one other person on board, the FAA said.
The pilot suffered an unspecified medical emergency while flying, the FAA said, forcing the passenger to take the controls and make an emergency landing at Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California.
The Kern Fire Department told CBS News affiliate KBAX that firefighters were called to a report of a medical emergency on the plane. The pilot was reported to be “incapacitated,” the fire department said. Firefighters saw the plane approach and land safely, then “chased” the plane down the runway in emergency vehicles to meet it.
The FAA did not release the passenger or pilot’s identities nor give an update on the pilot’s condition. The pilot was taken to an area hospital by ambulance. The passenger did not report any injuries.
The FAA and the National Transportation Security Board will investigate the incident, the FAA said.
