The highly anticipated event in the world of cryptocurrency is just on the horizon — the Bitcoin (BTC) halving, an event that occurs approximately every four years and cuts the new supply of BTC in half. This halving will have a significant impact on miners and the amount of new BTC issued in the market.
In our latest Cointelegraph video, we explore the potential effects of this event on both miners and investors.
Most industry experts do not foresee the halving as a cause for concern for the mining industry, but rather as an opportunity for miners to improve their efficiency. Miners have had four years to prepare for this event by upgrading their mining equipment and searching for locations with low-cost electricity.
Will Baxter, SVP at Business Strategy and Development at Braiins, a Bitcoin mining company, predicts that many miners will start diversifying their energy sources. He suggests they may turn to landfills and use waste for mining Bitcoin. Additionally, he believes that many miners will migrate towards using stranded energy.
Jaran Mellerud, co-founder and CEO of Hashlab Mining, believes that the hash rate, a measure of the processing power of the Bitcoin network, will not experience a significant drop after the halving. He estimates that it may decrease by around 10% or less.
Simultaneously, the Bitcoin halving is likely to impact the price of Bitcoin, as it has in the past. Following the halving, the reduction in supply could cause prices to surge, assuming that demand remains stable or increases. Price predictions for Bitcoin range from $120,000 by the end of this year to $250,000 by the end of 2025.
However, it is important to note that the halving does not occur in isolation. The overall macroeconomic landscape will play a crucial role in determining the short to medium-term price of Bitcoin. Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg, suggests that a downturn in the stock market could put pressure on Bitcoin, regardless of the halving. He believes that Bitcoin needs to demonstrate a correlation with gold during market downturns to avoid a significant decline.
To learn more about how this Bitcoin halving may differ from previous ones, watch the full video on our YouTube channel and make sure to subscribe!