The third halving of block rewards on the Bitcoin network has executed exactly as it was programmed to by Satoshi Nakamoto at block height 630,000. Bitcoin miners now get just 6.25 BTC for each new block of transactions that they add to the ledger, kicking off a new era of scarcity and lower inflation.
However, the last Bitcoin block that paid 12.5 BTC as its coinbase reward (block 629999) would go down as a memorable one, with F2Pool, the bitcoin mining pool that verified the transaction adding a reminder about one of Bitcoin’s most valuable proposition.
Bitcoin block 629999 Coinbase message
The state of the global economy in 2020 is arguably a reminiscence of what happened during the 2008 financial crisis that led up to the birth of Bitcoin. Central banks were printing money in mass numbers to bail out banks and large corporations, while the economy faltered and many investors lost their wealth as a result of inflation.
Little wonder Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s anonymous inventor included this message in Bitcoin’s genesis block went the network went live on Jan 3, 2009:
“Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
In a crisp reminder of that, the recently mined bitcoin block 629999 which kicks off a new era for Bitcoin included a similar message in its coinbase message reading:
“NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed’s Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue.”
With the next Bitcoin Halving not expected until at least four years, the cryptocurrency’s issuance model undoubtedly remains its greatest value proposition and a reminder of why many people are banking on its to succeed big time.
But then, it has been a very eventful twelve year of existence, and who says it can’t go wrong, or will it keep getting better for Bitcoin?
