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It was the moment most Bitcoin friends had been waiting for. At 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday in New York, Bitcoin (BTC) underwent its fourth halving at a block height of 840,000; block rewards were reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Despite the block reward being cut in half, miners on block 840,000 raked in high transaction fees, according to data from Blockchain.com. The fees exceeded 37 BTC, valued at over $2.4 million.
On this historic day, the price of Bitcoin remained relatively stable, above $63,000. The price reached $64,120 at the time of the halving before dropping slightly shortly after.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $63,700, up around 6% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency market cap now stands at over $2.4 trillion, up 4% in the last 24 hours.
Most altcoins have recovered from earlier losses and are now trading in positive territory. Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) both gained 5.5% in the last 24 hours. Solana (SOL) is the standout, up 10% and currently trading at around $142.
Toncoin (TON) is the only crypto currently experiencing a correction. TON is currently trading at around $6, down around 3% in one day.
What's next after the halving?
Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin has experienced four halvings. These halvings reduce the block reward for miners by half, scheduled to occur approximately every four years.
The next halving is expected to take place around April 2028. This process will continue until all 21 million Bitcoins are mined, which is expected to be around 2140. After that, miners will rely solely on transaction fees as reward.
Historically, halvings have been followed by price increases. This is likely due to the reduced supply of new Bitcoins, which creates a shortage and potentially increases demand.
In the previous three halvings, Bitcoin reached its peak several months after the halving.
However, with the arrival of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States and growing institutional adoption, Bitcoin has already set a new all-time high of $73,700 in March. For some analysts, these developments may have already factored in the expected price rise after a halving, suggesting lower prices after the halving.
Still, the future is unpredictable, especially given current geopolitical tensions that can influence high-risk investments like crypto.
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