Different measurements exist, but according to the Binance counter, there are only 32 days and 48 minutes left until the Bitcoin block reward halving. At the time of writing, Bitcoin stands at $65,700, and interestingly, a new all-time high (ATH) has been established just before the halving. Everything looks great, and investors are expecting prices to rise after the April halving, in line with historical performance. But what about the painful side of block reward halving?
2024 Bitcoin Halving
By April, the 210,000th block of this cycle will have been mined, and block rewards will drop from 6.25 to 3.125. Approximately 94% of the maximum supply has already been mined, and now the halving is likely to cause supply shortage concerns as in previous cycles. Even without the halving taking place yet, spot Bitcoin ETFs on their best days can experience a demand for BTC that is more than 40 times the daily issuance.
The issue is that the halving, which is expected to yield great results for everyone, may not be so beneficial for miners. Or we could say that it will serve as a litmus test for those managing Bitcoin mining operations.
Halving and Miner Bankruptcies
Adam Swick, the growth officer of Marathon Digital, one of North America’s largest mining firms, said that this event will be a critical test for well-financed companies. Miners were accustomed to a block reward of 6.25 BTC, which will suddenly be halved. However, in our previous assessment, we wrote that some companies strengthened their cash reserves with massive sales and placed orders for $1 billion worth of miners in one month.
Swick comments on this matter:
“Although the immediate impact is a decrease in rewards and profitability, these companies are typically more resilient when considering their greater access to capital and efficient operations.”
Michael Bennet, co-founder of OceanBit, assessed the halving as follows:
“Miners with debt burdens and maturing securities will opportunistically sell as they continue to break all-time highs during the post-halving cycle, where competition becomes fiercer and operational efficiency is king, in order to reduce debt payments.”
So, as always, we will see days when strong miner sales balance the excessive demand during the post-halving rise period, and despite this, the price is likely to race towards six-figure targets.
Greg Beard, CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining, believes that previous experiences are good lessons for necessary preparations.
Bennet finally said this about the price:
“Assuming global demand remains constant or increases, with the halving reducing daily new Bitcoin issuance from 900 to 450, we will see a consistent growth in Bitcoin price.”
The CEO of Stronghold believes we are in the early stages of Bitcoin adoption, agreeing with bullish predictions.
