RESEARCH: Miner Perspectives on Bitcoin Halving 2020, Part 1 of a New Podcast Series

In about 40 days, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, bitcoin, will undergo a pre-programmed block reward reduction known as the halving.

Roughly every 4 years, bitcoin’s block subsidy rewards are cut by 50 percent in order to prevent currency inflation. Recurring halving events also ensure that total supply over time is capped at 21 million coins. It will take an estimated 64 halving events before the last bitcoin is mined. So far, there have only been two.

To commemorate bitcoin’s third halving, CoinDesk Research is launching today a new weekly podcast series about the bitcoin mining industry. Each episode features discussions with leading experts in bitcoin mining hardware, operations and pool management on a variety of topics related to block subsidy reward reductions and their impact on the crypto markets.

Hosted by CoinDesk Research Analyst Christine Kim, the first episode of the Bitcoin Halving 2020 podcast series is about the impact of bitcoin’s third halving on the concentration of miners in China.

Discussing and debating this topic is Ethan Vera, head of finance at one of North America’s largest cryptocurrency mining pools Luxor Technologies. Also joining Kim and Vera on the show is Wolfie Zhao, a veteran member of the CoinDesk editorial team who specializes in news coverage on the Chinese bitcoin mining industry.

For more information about the bitcoin halving, CoinDesk Research has recently published a 30-page explainer report on these events which features additional commentary from Vera and other mining industry experts. The report is free to download on the CoinDesk website.