Those who understand the concept of Bitcoin would also know about Halving evenings. The next Halving event is expected around 17th April 2024, when the BTC block reward will decrease (half) from the current 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC for the next four years until mid-2028.
Note – This article is for informational purposes only and is about the concept of Bitcoin Halving and how it historically influenced price dynamics. It is not a recommendation or investment advice.
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So, what exactly is a Halving Event?
The concept of Halving (blow rewards) is a feature built into the original Bitcoin protocol. Bitcoin’s block reward halves every 210,000 blocks or approximately every four years. It reduces miners’ reward for finding a new block by half of what it was previously.
The idea of having a periodic, predictable halving event is to control inflation and ensure a steady supply of bitcoins. As per Bitcoin enthusiasts, this starkly contrasts conventional fiat currencies, where many central banks manage money supply unpredictably and at their discretion. The combination of Bitcoin’s fixed total supply of 21 Million and the decreasing creation rate creates scarcity, which many Bitcoin aficionados theorize could drive its value upwards over time.
There have been three halving events to date:
- The 1st Halving (in 2012) brought down the reward rate from 50 to 25 Bitcoins per block. After that, the BTC rose from $10-15 to almost $1000 in a few quarters.
- The 2nd Halving (in 2016) brought down the reward rate further from 25 to 12.5 Bitcoins per block. After that, the BTC rose to almost $20,000 after this halving event.
- The 3rd Halving (in 2020) brought down the reward rate further from 12.5 to 6.25 Bitcoins per block. After that, the BTC rose to almost $65,000 after this halving event.
With recent developments like the launch of Bitcoin ETF and increasing institutional adoption, there is anticipation that Bitcoin 2024 Halving will further push up the price. Of course, this is just speculation; only time will tell if this happens.
But as the world of cryptocurrency continues to evolve (with the latest being the approval and swift launch of Bitcoin ETFs), so have the opportunities for online casinos. Many are now based not only on Fiat currencies but also on different cryptocurrency tokens. Given the increased interest in the BTC space around halving events, online casinos will again be flooded with new and old players.
By the way, nowadays, you don’t even need to visit an actual casino to test your luck in casino settings. Such options to play and try your luck are readily available online. That said, it should be legal in your country, and only then should you get into it, And that too if you know what you are doing and the actual risks. Many online casinos refer to the percentage returned to a player and offer bonuses to roll out the red carpet for a new breed of players.
Returning to the discussion, many Bitcoin traders and investors look at various models to assess when to buy and sell their tokens. But the space, despite looking lucrative, comes with enormous risks, as is evident from unpredictable but still-periodic Bitcoin Price Corrections every few years.
Bitcoin halving increases the difficulty of mining Bitcoin and further increases the competition among miners. This is one of the primary reasons it can strongly impact the price trajectory of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. At least, this has been the case in historical terms.
By design of Bitcoin architecture, the difficulty of mining Bitcoin will continue to increase with each Halving event in future and not just the one in 2024. Overall, Bitcoin halving is a significant event for Bitcoin enthusiasts and, structurally, has a major impact on the Bitcoin network.
If you delve deeper into the original Bitcoin Whitepaper, you will realize that Bitcoin halving is complex. Just attributing the past price increases around Halving events solely to Halving itself doesn’t give the correct picture.
Occurring roughly every four years, Bitcoin’s quadrennial halvings halving events have consistently served as pivotal moments for substantial shifts in the cryptocurrency market’s pricing.
During these events, the incentive for creating new blocks is cut in half, slowing down the production of new bitcoins. This built-in scarcity factor has historically triggered bullish cycles in the market, positioning the time leading up to a halving as an opportune moment for investors aiming to optimize their returns.
Caution – Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are unregulated. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice.