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It was the moment that most of Bitcoin’s friends had been waiting for. At 8:10 pm ET Friday in New York, Bitcoin (BTC) underwent its fourth halving at block height 840,000; block rewards were slashed from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Despite the block reward halving, miners for block 840,000 raked in a hefty transaction fee, according to Blockchain.com data. The fee exceeded 37 BTC, valued at over $2.4 million.
On this historical day, Bitcoin’s price remained relatively stable at above $63,000. The price reached $64,120 at the time of the halving before dipping slightly soon after.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $63,700, up around 6% in the last 24 hours, per CoinGecko’s data. The crypto market capitalization 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% over the past 24 hours. Solana (SOL) is the star performer, surging by 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% within a day.
What’s next after halving?
Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has undergone four halving events. These halvings cut the block reward for miners in half, programmed to occur roughly every four years.
The next halving is estimated to happen around April 2028. This process will continue until all 21 million Bitcoins are mined, which is projected to be around 2140. After that, miners will rely solely on transaction fees as their reward.
Historically, halvings have been followed by price increases. This is likely due to the reduced supply of new Bitcoin, which creates scarcity and potentially drives up demand.
In the previous three halvings, Bitcoin hit its peak several months after the halving.
However, with the arrival of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US and the growing institutional adoption, Bitcoin already established a new all-time high of $73,700 in March. For some analysts, these developments might have already factored in the price increase anticipated after a halving, and a price decline is more likely.
Still, the future is unpredictable, especially given the current geopolitical tensions that can influence high-risk investments like crypto.
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