What's the concept of a mining reward halving?

In the world of Bitcoin, a mining reward halving is an event where the reward for successfully mining a new block is cut in half. This happens roughly every four years, and it's written into the core code of Bitcoin itself.

Here's a breakdown of the concept:

* **Miners:** These are the computers that solve complex puzzles to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. As a reward for their work, they get bitcoins.
* **Mining reward:** This is the amount of Bitcoin awarded to miners for successfully creating a new block.
* **Halving:** The mining reward is cut in half. So, if miners were getting 10 bitcoins per block before the halving, they'd only get 5 bitcoins per block after.

There are two main reasons why halving is important:

* **Scarcity:** By reducing the number of new bitcoins entering circulation, halving creates scarcity. This, in theory, can lead to a price increase for Bitcoin if demand stays the same or rises.
* **Deflationary currency:** Unlike traditional currencies that governments can inflate by printing more money, Bitcoin has a fixed supply. Halving helps maintain this fixed supply and makes Bitcoin a deflationary currency.