4 Bitcoin Halving Events You Should Watch Before Block Height 630000

There are plenty of Bitcoin halving events that are scheduled to take place at block height 630000. One of them is a bona fide marathon which features dozens of famous bitcoiners, there is also a VR meetup, there is an iteration of Bitcoin Olympics, there are meetups for nationals who speak a certain language, and there is even a gathering of shitcoiners who find the Bitcion halving eventful enough to gather around and talk about it.

No matter what you think about the Bitcoin halving and how hard you try to label it as a non-event, it has a great significance. To some, it symbolizes the Bitcoin New Year and the passing into a new phase of monetary scarcity. To others, it’s a challenge to discover more efficient ways to mine bitcoins. And to everyone paying attention, it’s a reminder that the Bitcoin network has worked flawlessly for another 210000 blocks (4 years).

This article aims to briefly explain why the halving matters, and also recommend 4 livestreams and events that you should be watching at block height 630000 (May 11th 2020).

Why is the Bitcoin halving such a big deal?

The third ever Bitcoin halving is scheduled to happen at block height 630.000 (approximately May 11th 2020, 23:43 UTC). After this special block gets discovered, mining rewards get cut in half. For the next 210.000 blocks (approximately 4 years), miners will collect 6.25 BTC instead of 12.5. And these rewards will only lower until 2136, when miners will only receive 1 satoshi (0.00000001 BTC) per discovered block – and by then the fee market will hopefully kick in.

In practical terms, the Bitcoin halving is an essential part of the network’s monetary policy. Through this process, the inflation rate gets cut in half to create more scarcity. And if this drastic reduction of supply is going to meet a greater demand, then the market valuation of bitcoins should also skyrocket.

Between May 2020 and a date in 2024 that is yet to be established, 210000 blocks of 6.25 BTC will be mined. This means that 1.312.500 BTC of the 21.000.000 that will ever exist get released during this 4-year era – only 6.25% of the entire BTC supply. So between 2024 and 2140, there will be just 1.312.500 bitcoins left to be mined.

The halving also has an important significance for miners. If their rewards get cut in half, then some of them must reduce the scale of their operations or completely shut down until the price makes it profitable. This enables a “survival of the fittest” kind of scenario where only the most efficient actors that use the most affordable form of energy remain permanently active.

Right now, it’s rumored that the “production cost” of 1 BTC rounds up to $3000 globally. After block height 630000, it’s going to double to $6000/coin.

But if there’s anything for which Bitcoin’s Proof of Work is great, then it’s finding the most sustainable and cheap source of electricity. Also, it pushes innovation in the field of ASICs – the miners that produce the greatest hashing power from the smallest amount of energy become the ones that survive every Bitcoin halving.

Last but not least, there is speculation about incentives to drive the BTC price up. Since miners must always be profitable, it’s more likely for them to HODL the freshly-minted coins to create scarcity and drive the price up. Yet this projection should not be taken for granted, as the reduction in supply becomes less significant every 4 years, as the issuance also lowers. Most bitcoins have already been mined, and the fresh ones will not make such a great difference on the market.

Only 32 Bitcoin halvings will ever exist (this one is only the 3rd), and each time the rewards for the next 4 years get cut in half. At the very end of it, there will be no more bitcoins left to mine. Yet this doesn’t mean that the network stops from issuing blocks – on the contrary, the system is expected to function on the basis of collecting transaction fees.

For more technical information about the supply of bitcoins, then consult this detailed Wiki. If you would like to read a comprehensive infographic, then check out Abishai James’ work on WinBTC.

4 shows to watch during the 3rd Bitcoin Halvening, before block height 630000

Bitcoin Magazine’s 21-hour Bitcoin Halving livestream

Possibly the most impressive event to watch is the one organized by Bitcoin Magazine. On May 10th, 11:59 EST, more than 30 guests will be joining a live conference which lasts for approximately 21 hours (until block no. 630000 gets mined). Notable participants include Slush, American Hodl, Brekkie van Bitcoin, Christiak Keroles, Francis Pouliot, Gigi, and John Carvalho.

The event is a bona fide marathon which gathers some of the most brilliant minds in the Bitcoin space in order to debate the significance of this once-in-210-thousand-blocks event. Every segment is carefully timed, so if you have certain highlights that you want to catch (such as the live “Noded” episode that Pierre Rochard and Michael Goldstein are set to record at 14:40 EST), then you can simply tune in according to the schedule.

Also, this structure also allows you to watch other livestreams that take place at the same time and also feature exciting talks.

Team Satoshi’s Halving Challenge

Getting tired of all the sitting and listening? Would you like to actively participate in an event? Then the 1-block challenge might just be what you’re looking for.

Organized by Vitus Zeller of Team Satoshi and Richard Taylor of Bitcoin Runners, the event will challenge guests to perform a type of physical exercise that is simultaneously safe and healthy. In a world where everyone sits in their computer screen watching charts and reading tweets, it’s truly refreshing to find events that promote sports.

Well-known participants include Javier Bastardo of Satoshi en Venezuela, Meltem Demirors, Desiree Dickerson, Anita Posch, and more. All of them will be running on the treadmill, doing squats, showing off their pushup endurance, and/or showing the rest of the community the perfect form for burpees. There might even be some cycling, so stay tuned!

If you’re watching the stream and also want to perform some kind of athletic feat, then you can tweet using the #HalvingChallenge hashtag. Great community photos and videos will be mentioned, discussed, and even showed during the stream.

Officially, the livestream of the Halving Challenge (also referred to as “The Bitcoin Olympics”) begins at block height 629998. The challenge itself starts after block no. 629999 gets mined, and the stream ends as soon as the halving completes.

The event also raises funds for a charitable cause: the St. Anne School in Zimbabwe will receive all funds donated to the stream’s Bitcoin address. For more information, check out the Halving Challenge’s press release.

Kraken’s Block Drop VR Halving Party

Virtual reality is exciting and unique thanks to its immersiveness. Even during this pandemic which keeps most of us locked down in our homes, we can still get together and get the Bitcoin conference vibes thanks to these magnificent digital teleportation devices.

Kraken’s event special for two reasons: it’s the only Bitcoin halving party which takes place in VR, and it’s also the biggest pre-halving event. Clearly, the exchange did not want to directly compete with the other heavyweights, so the virtual meetup was scheduled 24 hours before block 630000.

The main event features a presentation by Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark and Reckless Review co-host (and former Bitcoin noob) Udi Werheimer.

If you can’t wait for other Bitcoin halving events to begin, then you may watch Kraken’s 5-hour stream on Twitter. It truly feels like a small Bitcoin conference.

CoinTelegraph’s Bitcoin Halving Party

Ever felt like everyone is taking the halving a little too seriously and presents opinions that are a little too factual? Well, you can always tune in to the “pro-Bitcoin” even which happens to host some of the biggest BTC haters: from Cornell professor Emin Gun Sirer to fake Bitcoin proponent Roger Ver, everything seems strange and out of place.

This can either turn into a cesspool of hate directed at Bitcoin development, or a funny display of personal shitcoin bag pumping and ideologically-driven arguments. If Bitcoin doesn’t get changed to do what you think it should, with the cost of destroying its decentralization, then it’s definitely flawed and worthy of your active and perpetual criticism. This is likely to be the mindset of this show. And if you feel like everyone else is a little too positive, then you may tune in to hear some bitter arguments.

Or maybe that this may just be Roger Ver’s return to the real Bitcoin, as he realizes that his journey in the realm of big blocks has been a technical and financial failure. If Bobby Lee repented from his advocacy of SegWit2X and bcash, then maybe all the participants on this panel should follow his lead.

Unnecessary warning: take everything you hear with a grain of salt, there are lots of personal agendas at stake. The event has mostly been listed here as a source of amusement. Because really, it’s sad to see how low The CoinTelegraph has sunk (not that the expectations were that high anyway).

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