Fidelity claims Bitcoin security holds after halving

A major asset manager has argued that Bitcoin's long-term security is not inherently weakened by its scheduled reductions in mining rewards, countering a persistent criticism of the cryptocurrency's economic model. In a research report published in late June 2026, Fidelity Digital Assets contends that the network's security is supported by a combination of factors beyond block subsidies, including transaction fees, hash rate growth, and market incentives.

The report, authored by research analyst Daniel Gray, addresses concerns that Bitcoin's quadrennial "halving" events gradually erode miner incentives. These events, programmed into Bitcoin's code, cut the reward for mining a new block roughly every four years. The most recent halving occurred on April 20, 2024, reducing the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Critics have long argued that this declining issuance could make the network more vulnerable to attack unless transaction fees rise sufficiently to compensate miners.

Fidelity challenges that view by pointing to historical data. The report notes that Bitcoin's hash rate, a measure of the total computational power securing the network, has increased dramatically across...