Author: Helen Partz, CoinTelegraph; Compiled by: Five Baht, Golden Finance

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It experienced its first halving event 12 years ago, reducing the block reward from 50 BTC Reduced to 25 BTC.

Since then, the Bitcoin block reward - the incentive for crypto miners to verify Bitcoin transactions and secure the network - has shrunk to 3.125 BTC after three halvings, greatly limiting the number of new The supply of mined BTC enters the market.

On the 12th anniversary of Bitcoin’s halving, Bitcoin is trading close to its all-time high of around $99,600 set on November 22, partly due to Bitcoin’s fourth halving event in April. .

Bitcoin halving date and block reward. Source: BitDegree

As the community celebrates the anniversary of the first Bitcoin halving, this article revisits some of BTC’s key historical milestones and changes in the mining ecosystem.

As of November 27, the circulating supply of BTC was 19.8 million, with 1.2 million remaining to be mined until the limited supply of 21 million is reached.

Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, which is one of the fundamental principles of the Bitcoin network and is designed to provide asset scarcity.

The total amount of Bitcoin in circulation. Source: Blockchain.com

Although the amount of 1.2 million BTC is small relative to the number of Bitcoins that have been mined, due to the reduction in rewards and the increase in mining difficulty, the remaining BTC mined The mining process will require miners to spend more time and energy.

According to data from MinerStat, the Bitcoin mining difficulty rate is currently 102.3 trillion, breaking the 100 trillion mark for the first time on November 5. The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is expected to take place on December 2.

Despite the challenges posed by higher Bitcoin mining difficulty and lower block rewards, the cryptocurrency market continues to rise as the cryptocurrency market continues to rise. Bitcoin miners are far from surrendering.

As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $95,364, up 154% over the past year, according to CoinGecko. Since Bitcoin’s most recent halving event on April 20, 2024, the price of the cryptocurrency has also increased significantly, increasing in value by approximately 45%.

According to a report from European cryptocurrency investment company CoinShares, although 2024Bitcoin's rise has seen block rewards increase in U.S. dollars, but Bitcoin miners have been taking steps to reduce costs and adopt artificial intelligence.

CoinShares said in an October mining report: "The Bitcoin mining industry has faced significant challenges this year, with both revenue and hash prices declining."

In July, When BTC was trading around $56,500, Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf was considering a merger due to low profit margins.

Some major cryptocurrency mining companies such as Marathon Digital sold large amounts of mined BTC this year after the fourth halving, citing a need to increase efficiency and stay competitive. Marathon has also turned to actively buying Bitcoin, announcing in August a $250 million convertible senior note offering.

El Salvador, on the other hand, has stepped up efforts to find alternative Bitcoin mining methods that harness geothermal volcanic energy.