- Bitcoin’s fourth halving event slashes miner rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC per block.
- Industry experts are divided on the long-term impact, with projections suggesting potential new highs of $250K.
- The reduction in block rewards aims to decrease the Bitcoin supply, which currently stands at 19.6 million.
On Friday night, the Bitcoin network implemented its fourth halving event, reducing the incentives for miners by half. Specifically, as of April 18, miners earned 6.25 BTC tokens, equivalent to about $400,000, to validate a block of transactions. Following yesterday’s halving, miners now earn 3.125 BTC.
This event occurs approximately every four years, as the Bitcoin code dictates. The aim is to moderate the issuance of Bitcoins and foster scarcity. Industry pundits are divided over the implications of this year’s halving on Bitcoin’s long-term value.
JPMorgan anticipates a potential downside for Bitcoin following the halving, while Deutsche Bank suggests limited expectations for price escalation. Nonetheless, the actual ramifications may unfold in the months ahead. Emphatically, the price of Bitcoin has historically clinched multiple new all-time highs following a halving event.
For instance, after the first halving cycle, Bitcoin saw a staggering 9,300% gain in value, rallying from about $12.5 to $1,163 a year later. Also, a similar trend repeated in the second and third cycles, as illustrated in the image below.
Popular projections from industry pundits suggest Bitcoin could set a new high at $250K for this fourth cycle. However, considering BTC rallied by about 700% in the third cycle, a repeat of this history suggests a potential $500K per Bitcoin.
Notably, the mining reward of 3.125 BTC now equates to approximately $200,000 as of Friday evening. The mining rewards were 50 Bitcoins at inception, though it wielded a monetary value of about $625.
The reduction in block rewards decreases the supply of Bitcoin by slowing down the creation of new coins. As stipulated in the Bitcoin code, the total number of Bitcoins in circulation is set to max out at 21 million, with approximately 19.6 million already in circulation today.
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