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VOA慢速英语2019--比特币“减半”即将撼动加密货币市场

时间:2019-12-28 00:00:16

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(单词翻译)

If you are not someone following the ups and downs of bitcoin, you probably have not heard about a big event next year. It is called the "halving1." It will cut creation of the cryptocurrency by 50 percent.

A cryptocurrency is any form of money that exists online and operates without a central bank. Bitcoin is one of several such currencies.

No one person or group is in control of this halving process. It is a rule written into bitcoin's computer program by its creator Satoshi Nakamoto more than 10 years ago.

The event is expected in May of 2020. It would cut by 50 percent the number of new bitcoins given to bitcoin miners. These miners create the world's supply of cryptocurrency by solving complex mathematical questions.

The halving represents a big change in a market worth about $120 billion. Bitcoin worth several billions dollars are created every year.

Bitcoin market players are predicting sharp price increases as well as sharp drops in the value of the cryptocurrency. Such moves have happened in earlier halvings, which take place about every four years. The point of a halving is to keep down the number of bitcoins and control inflation.

There are likely to be winners and losers. So, those who buy and sell bitcoin are trying to predict the future of the cryptocurrency markets.

"This is the biggest question right now for most of the industry," said Eyal Avramovich. He is chief executive of MineBest, a Poland-based company that mines bitcoin.

The drop in bitcoin's production is one reason why the digital currency has not been accepted by established financial markets and organizations. Its future value is decided2 by technology and not, some say, by the rules of economics.

The rules of economics say that if supply is cut and demand stays the same, prices rise. The Reuters news agency spoke3 with seven cryptocurrency traders who said that the halving will lead to greater price volatility4. They added that since the cut in supply is expected, the price may slowly rise or fall before the cut is made.

Making money from price swings

Bitcoin miners use modern, high-tech5 computers to compete against other computers in the cryptocurrency world. They are working to add new "blocks" to the blockchain ledger6 that supports the cryptocurrency.

Blockchain is the name of the system that records cryptocurrency creation, buying or selling. The system rests with many computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. It is believed that the network protects cryptocurrencies from attack and other financial crimes.

Bitcoin miners receive a set number of bitcoin, currently 12.5. The next halving will take place in May, when the number will drop to 6.25.

The two past halvings took place in November 2012 and July 2016. In the one year periods that followed, bitcoin's value rose close to 80 times in 2012 and four times in 2016.

It is not clear how much of these price increases resulted from the halving. There may have been other influences.

Jeff Dorman is with Arca, a U.S. investment company specializing in cryptocurrency. He says bitcoin markets look like they will rise and fall during and after the halving event.

Such volatility in bitcoin markets is usually good for traders who work in the high-tech cryptocurrency industry because they can profit from a small change in price.

"For us, the event will be positive because it will cause activity in the market," said Ha Duong. He is a cryptocurrency investor7 in Berlin who works for a large trading company.

Miners, however, hold large amounts of bitcoin. They do not want volatility. They want a leveling of prices, which enables them to invest in the newest computer technology to earn more bitcoin.

Words in This Story

digital – adj. using or relating to computer technology; showing information as electronic images

volatility – n. the condition in which market prices move up and down quickly

ledger – n. a book or collection of financial records

peer-to-peer – adj. of or related to a computer network in which each computer can act as a server for the others, enabling the sharing of information without the need for a central server.

positive – adj. a good, profitable event


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1 halving c6f26b86dcde43d12ca22a6b8a0bba9a     
n.对分,二等分,减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 );把…减半;对分;平摊
参考例句:
  • You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现,薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
  • Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半,就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网
2 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 volatility UhSwC     
n.挥发性,挥发度,轻快,(性格)反复无常
参考例句:
  • That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
  • Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而,由于相当长的时间里波动性小,灾难短视就获胜了。
5 high-tech high-tech     
adj.高科技的
参考例句:
  • The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展,这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
  • The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。
6 ledger 014xk     
n.总帐,分类帐;帐簿
参考例句:
  • The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺,然后又埋头写起分类帐。
  • She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的,家庭分类账记得清楚详细。
7 investor aq4zNm     
n.投资者,投资人
参考例句:
  • My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
  • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

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