Bitcoin has followed a sideways trend throughout history, leading to a halving event. Before the 2020 halving, prices increased, although it was marked by volatility and occasional adjustments.
Let’s review price actions during halvings and explore what comes next.
First Halving – November 28, 2012
The first Bitcoin halving occurred on November 28, 2012, and reduced the block reward from 50 to 25 BTC. On that day, Bitcoin price closed at $12.20.
Post-halving, the network hash rate became difficult since miners found it less profitable to continue operating their machines.
However, at the beginning of 2013, Bitcoin embarked on its initial significant surge, propelling prices from approximately $13 to nearly $1,000 by the end of that year.
Second Halving – July 9, 2016
With the 2016 halving, Bitcoin’s block reward fell from 25 to 12.5 BTC. The closing price consolidated around $641.56.
Afterwards, Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed, reaching an all-time high near $20,000 by the end of 2017.
This is when cryptocurrencies gained mainstream media attention, setting the stage for rapid price hikes in the future.
Third Halving – May 11, 2020
The most recent halving event occurred in May 2020 and reduced the block reward from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC. In the year leading up to this event, Bitcoin’s value surged from around $8,727 to $55,847, a growth of 540%.
Interestingly, this halving and subsequent price growth happened during the COVID-19 global pandemic. During this period, there was unprecedented monetary stimulus from central banks worldwide, affecting asset prices worldwide.
Bitcoin Price 1 Week to 2024 Halving
The next halving is projected to occur on April 20, 2024, when the block reward will decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
This is the first time in Bitcoin’s history that the price has surpassed the all-time high level before the halving event.Â
This cycle’s price action is unprecedented. To compare what happened with any other cycle with what will play out now is a stretch since it is uncharted territory.
In the last cycle, alts did not rally 20X all over the place in the pre-halving year, and BTC was not at ATH before the halving. We could expect some compelling price action pre- and post-halving 2024.
