When is it?
The first Ycash halving will occur at block 850,000. Today, we’re at block 826,436. So very soon! Based on block times of 150 seconds, the halving should occur November 18, 2020.
What is it?
The halving is a rare event in which new coin issuance is cut in half.
Currently, 7,200 new YEC are born into the world every day. After the halving, just 3,600 will be born every day.
Who is giving birth to these new YEC?
Anyone with a personal computer and a GPU can compete to add blocks to the Ycash blockchain, which involves solving a math puzzle and verifying that the block is ordered correctly (don’t worry, the computer does all the heavy lifting).
By doing this work, a successful miner is rewarded with 12.5 YEC per block. After the halving, that reward will be 6.25 YEC. Those chimes ring out 576 times per day, every 2.5 minutes.
Why does this matter?
Fiat currencies can be inflated away, often to failure, by the whims of central bankers. In contrast, a controlled rate of inflation is at the core of the Ycash economic model. A tightening schedule ensures the coin count is kept in check, never to surpass 21,000,000 YEC.
The impact of crypto-halving events can be unpredictable, but with other scarce coins like bitcoin, halvings resulted in fewer precious new coins hitting the open market.
Edit: The halving occurred as scheduled and everything went fine!
The 2nd Ycash halving will occur at block 2,280,000, around November 2024.
