- The Bitcoin (BTC) halving is only more than a day away as of this writing on Thursday.
- The estimated arrival of this event is the evening of April 19 at UTC standard.
- Some analysts believe the halving is already priced in, but are bullish on its aftermath.
What is the Bitcoin Halving?
For those left unaware of the upcoming party, the halving is one of the deflationary mechanisms of Bitcoin to ensure its scarcity. It basically reduces the block mining rewards of its ecosystem by half at every 210,000th block in roughly four years. The 19th of April affair will mark the fourth instance of the halving and the cycle is pre-programmed to trigger occassionally until the 21 million supply cap of BTC has been extracted.
In this cycle, the Bitcoin blockchain rewards miners with 6.25 BTC per block. The next epoch will cut the numbers down to 3.125 BTC, which will result in a tighter supply amid the aggressive accumulation of institutions nowadays. Among the primary hoarders of the digital asset at present are the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers in the US led by BlackRock.
What to Expect for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies?
The countdown to the halving is about to hit zero tomorrow, hence, analysts warn that those who want to hop on the train at the moment may find themselves late for the party.
As former Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes said, the next few weeks until May 1 is going to be a no-trade zone for him. Although there’s a good shorting opportunity for traders with a high appetite for risk, they should tread with caution.
Bitcoin is yet to recover from its slump on Saturday as Iran’s recent attack on Israel wiped out its building-up momentum at the $70K line. Now, this is causing some analysts like Gryphon Digital Mining CEO Rob Chang to ponder whether or not the halving has already been priced in.
Chang, who was also Riot Platforms’ former CFO, factored in his assessment the likely climb in value of the US dollar amid the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on cutting interest rates in the short run, which could present a juicy shorting chance. The ensuing massive selling pressure by halving would further reinforce their move. However, if their bearish positions would suddenly swing on the upside in favor of the bulls, a supply squeeze may happen at their expense.
Overall, the consensus is bullish on the potential of Bitcoin post-halving. Besides the higher institutional demand brewing up, Chang noted the dipping prices around halving presents a good buying opportunity for institutional investors.
In relation to this, analysts have predicted soaring prices for BTC hitting at least $100K in the cycle following the halving. The Motley Fool, Rekt Capital, Peter Brandt, Robert Kiyosaki, and CryptoJobs founder (with the handle “The Moon” on X) have maintained a bullish outlook until year-end. Sharing the same sentiment is Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu with an added forecast saying that a unit of BTC could boom to $1 million “in the near future,” echoing Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood’s $1.48 million BTC projection by 2030.