Bitcoin (BTC) has successfully gone through its fourth-ever halving event after posting its 840,000th block, the point at which mining rewards are slashed in half once again.
The event has the crypto community eagerly awaiting what’s next for Bitcoin’s price, with some predictions reaching as high as $250,000.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price is $63,960, up 1.16% over the past 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap data.
From today onwards, Bitcoin miners will receive 3.125 BTC per mined block, down from the previous 6.25 BTC.
It is a programmed process in the Bitcoin protocol that happens every 210,000 blocks mined, which equates to roughly every four years.
The last three halvings occurred in 2012, 2016 and 2020, leading to significant drops in mining rewards over time. The first Bitcoin halving occurred in 2012 when the reward for mining a block was reduced from 50 to 25 BTC.
The main purpose behind the Bitcoin halving is to manage scarcity and regulate the inflationary supply of Bitcoin. The mechanism was built into the code by Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
By cutting mining rewards in half, this process effectively slows down the rate at which new Bitcoin is created.
The system will continue until roughly 2140 when all Bitcoin is mined.
Major Bitcoin miners have been getting ready for the event. Marathon Digital recently announced its plans to acquire a 200-megawatt (MW) Bitcoin mining facility in Texas for $87.3 million.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, competitor Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms purchased 66,560 mining rigs from manufacturer MicroBT in one of the largest expansions of hash rate in the firm’s history.
Related: Bitcoin halving supply shock set to shake up mining sector
M2 CEO Stefan Kimmel told Cointelegraph:
The Bitcoin halving is a pivotal event that historically signals a shift in the market, usually initiating a bullish trend over the following months. As we approached the fourth halving, the anticipation built, suggesting a continued—if slightly more subdued—upward trajectory.
Despite short-term predictions of price volatility within the crypto community, there remains optimism about the long-term potential of Bitcoin’s price.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, billionaire investor Tim Draper believes that the halving is going to help push Bitcoin’s price up to “$250,000 or more,” a forecast he has consistently proclaimed, particularly in 2022.
“The simple reason that Bitcoin price goes up after the halving is that the supply goes down, and with continued upward pressure on demand, the price goes up naturally in a free market.”
Meanwhile, Herbert Sim aka “Bitcoin Man” told Cointelegraph that there are currently other elements at play when speculating over Bitcoin’s price.
“Halving is not the only thing to look out for in the price action,” he declared, indicating that the recent approval of the Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong will also potentially have a major price impact.
“The big banks of China will all have to start buying Bitcoin themselves too,” Sim stated.
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