The long-awaited halving process took place on the night of Friday, April 19 to Saturday, April 20. Does this herald the beginning of a new cycle?
Bitcoin has been on the rise for over a year now, even surpassing its previous cycle's highest level, well beyond the $70,000 mark. An unprecedented event in the history of this cryptocurrency, usually starting its upturn at the time of the famous halving, which occurs every four years and cuts bitcoin miners' rewards in half. And it is this event that took place last night!
The fourth halving in history
The history of Bitcoin, "it's simple," some might say. Every four years, miners' rewards are halved during the halving, which then marks the beginning of a roughly one-year upturn in the currency's prices (bull market) before a collapse.
Indeed, this is what happened during the first three halvings, in 2012, 2016, and 2020 - even though it always needs to be reminded, as the established formula indicates, that past performance does not guarantee future results. With this fourth halving, the reward for each mined block decreases to 3.125 bitcoins.
The 4th #Bitcoin halving is complete!
— Binance (@binance) April 20, 2024
Block rewards are now 3.125 #BTC
The countdown has been reset - see you in 2028 🫡 pic.twitter.com/s0Wcl19A8p
A bitcoin at $100,000 in 2024?
Even though the last bitcoin will be created in 2140, more than 19 out of the 21 million bitcoins originally planned by Satoshi Nakamoto have already been created. There are not many new units left that can enter the market, with the energy cost of mining automatically doubling after the halving.
Many analysts see Bitcoin continuing its growth, despite the anomaly of surpassing the previous cycle's record before the halving. Interviewed by Les Echos, the CEO of the mining company StartMining, Saimi Barragan, believes that "Bitcoin will be at $100,000, or even more, by the end of 2024. The price usually rises in the sixty to ninety days after the halving." Will the scenario be respected?