Bitcoin Faces Major Supply Shock as Mining Reward Halves in April

The "halving" cuts the reward for bitcoin miners in half, reducing supply of new bitcoins. The next one happens around April 19th/20th.

Previous halvings have preceded large bitcoin price rallies in the following year, though the exact role of the halving is debated.

Other factors like increasing adoption and new bitcoin ETFs may also drive prices up independently of the halving.

It's debated whether the halving will increase or decrease energy use for bitcoin mining, as miners react to lower rewards.

Regardless, bitcoin mining will continue to consume a large amount of energy, which remains controversial.