How Did Bitcoin Halving Go, And What Comes Next For the Price?
On April 20 at 00:10 UTC, Bitcoin successfully halved at block height #840,000. The miners' reward per block was halved from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
This halving was the fourth in history. This pre-programmed event, dating back to Satoshi Nakamoto, involves halving the reward to miners for adding a new block to the blockchain. The event occurs every four years, which is every 210,000 blocks. The event will continue until the last 21 million Bitcoin is mined. It is estimated that this will happen in 2140.
In the current halving, a block was mined by the ViaBTC pool, as reported on its social media accounts. Meanwhile, the mining difficulty was 86.39 T. Interestingly, market participants are looking positively at the halving because historically, Bitcoin has risen strongly in price after this event. On April 20, the Bitcoin price traded around $64,000, reacting to the halving with a slight increase.
🎉 Block #840000, the #BitcoinHalving block, was successfully mined by ViaBTC!
— ViaBTC (@ViaBTC) April 20, 2024
🚀 Thrilled to celebrate this milestone with our dedicated miners.
🌌 Let's keep pushing forward on this incredible journey!
🌙 BTC to the moon!!!#BTCHalving #ViaBTC #ViaBTCHalving pic.twitter.com/thKF0AEC7c
Experts assure that the market will still see the reaction from the current halving. They rely on historical data in their beliefs. Thus, in 2012 Bitcoin rose by 1,800% in five months after the halving, in 2016 it grew by 3,000% in a year and a half, and in 2020 it rose by 600% in almost a year.
On April 20, the average cost of commissions on the Bitcoin network rose strongly after the halving. In the first hours after the halving, miners earned huge rewards. In the first 93 blocks after the halving, they collected a total of 1,087.99 Bitcoin from fees alone.
Yesterday, Bitcoin transaction fees soared, generating $81.72 million 📈
— Messari (@MessariCrypto) April 21, 2024
Explore key metrics of Bitcoin: https://t.co/VwP9vsvrIh pic.twitter.com/4tWsd5lgQc
However, such a sharp rise in the price of fees can also be attributed to the launch of the Runes protocol, as users on the network are spending significant sums for the opportunity to enter rare satoshis into the halving block. A total of 37.7 BTC, worth more than $2.4 million, was spent on fees to gain a limited spot on Bitcoin's fourth-ever halving block.
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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around the $66,000 resistance level, up 2% in the last 24 hours. Further gains could lead to the $67,500 resistance level. If the bulls consolidate their position, Bitcoin could potentially reach the $70,000 resistance level in the near term.
If bears continue to put pressure on the price, Bitcoin could potentially fall to support levels of $65,500, $64,500, $64,000 and lower.
This is not a 100 percent statement. The cryptocurrency market is very volatile. Investors should exercise caution when making decisions.
