Interesting facts about half-life

Halvings are pivotal moments in Bitcoin monetary policy every four years, with profound implications for the economic viability of individual mining operations, the asset’s overall market dynamics, and the block alcohol content generally present in the bloodstreams of Bitcoin users. It’s crazy.

Everyone is waiting with bated breath for history to repeat itself, celebrating each cycle’s halving as the moment Bitcoin becomes a more scarce asset, an event that historically has seen its price surge in response to changes in issuance schedules.

I’m sure everyone is all too familiar with this dynamic. So today, as we all wait for block 840,000 to arrive, let’s take a look at some lesser-known facts about Bitcoin’s supply schedule and halving.

• The total supply of Bitcoin does not actually exist anywhere in the codebase. The code simply specifies a starting reward of 50 BTC per block and modifies the value for each halving by halving it.

• In fact, the total supply of Bitcoin is not 21 million. Due to the way Bitcoin’s code actually works, if the supply is halved, there will only be 20999999.97690 BTC in circulation until the Coinbase subsidy drops to 0 satoshi.
• Due to the specificity of the programming language (C++) in which Bitcoin was written, its supply was originally completely unlimited. In 2214, the full supply will begin minting again, resetting the block reward to 50 BTC per block and issuing another 21 million coins. The BIP was written as a joke, but this was revised in BIP 42 in 2014.
• The half supply curve combined with total supply has interesting properties. During the first grant period of 50 BTC Coinbase rewards, 50% of the supply was in circulation. During the next halving of the 25 BTC reward, 25% of the supply will be in circulation. Halving the Coinbase reward value is a percentage of the total supply in circulation.
• During the first halving, when block rewards were reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC per block, a group of miners attempted to change their Bitcoin clients and continue mining on chains where the block subsidy remained at 50 BTC even after the halving.

Less skilled people or new people in this field would probably not be aware of most of these little facts. Interesting little stories about things tend to fade into historical memory and disappear. If we see a reconstitution of Epic’s halving at block 840,000, probably in 15 to 20 years, most people using Bitcoin will similarly not remember or know that such an event occurred in 2024.

If you are lucky enough to see these little moments of history now, cherish the experience. It’s something you can look back on once in your life, and probably use it to annoy people around you despite your lack of consideration.

Have a happy half-life everyone.