Bitcoin ‘halving’ explained: BTC price nears record high at $63,000 ahead of landmark event
Here’s what to know about Bitcoin’s upcoming historic moment, which has crypto investors buying in anticipation.
Crypto winter is looking like it’s ending—at least for Bitcoin (BTC). The coin’s value has skyrocketed to around $63,000 as of midday Wednesday, nearing its record high of almost $69,000 reached in November 2021. It marks a remarkable turnaround for BTC, which had seen its value fall to less than $16,000 in late 2022 and early 2023.
The comeback has been fast and furious in recent weeks, but it’s also been growing for some time. Earlier this year, regulators gave Bitcoin ETFs the green light, which may have kicked the bull run into full gear; and more recently, it appears that crypto traders and investors are in a buying frenzy as the next “halving” event is expected to occur in the weeks ahead.
So, just what is a Bitcoin halving?
Bitcoin halving concerns one of the fundamental ways in which the cryptocurrency itself works. A halving happens roughly every four years (or, specifically, after 210,000 blocks have been “mined”); and when they do occur, it means that Bitcoin miners see their block rewards reduced. In other words, when a miner mines Bitcoin, they’ll receive less Bitcoin than they did before. Specifically, they’ll receive half of what they did before the halving—hence the name. Bitcoin miners currently receive 6.25 BTC after successfully mining a block—and after the upcoming halving, that reward will be reduced to 3.125 BTC.
Only 21 million Bitcoins will ever exist, and more than 19 million have already been mined. It’s estimated that the last BTC will be mined by roughly 2140.
It’s unclear when, exactly, the halving will occur, but it’s estimated to happen in mid-April. Some countdown clocks peg the exact date as April 19.
The last halving event occurred in May 2020, and coincided with a small bump in BTC’s value. It wasn’t until late 2020 that Bitcoin saw a huge rally, seeing its value climb from around $11,000 in October 2020 to around $60,000 in March 2021.
Currently, investors may be rushing into Bitcoin positions in anticipation of the upcoming halving as halving events, over the years, have often been followed by significant Bitcoin appreciation. In that sense, the ongoing bull rally concerning Bitcoin is likely being fueled by the halving, as well as by investors reading the tea leaves, and crypto being further embraced by regulators and traditional markets.
Oppenheimer executive director Owen Lau, in a discussion with Yahoo Finance this week, said that there are plenty of bullish signs in the market. “I think going into April and maybe even May, we are going to see the catalyst from Bitcoin halving and the catalyst of further adoption from spot Bitcoin ETF continue,” he said.
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