In less than six months’ time, Bitcoin will see an extremely important event. Known as a “halving” or “halvening,” the number of coins issued per block to miners will get cut in half from 12.5 to 6.25, effectively meaning that BTC’s inflation rate will be cut in half in layman’s terms.
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The halving mechanism, should it be kept in the code in the decades to come, will ensure that there will only be 21 million Bitcoin in existence. Ever. This ties into Satoshi Nakamoto’s seeming obsession with creating a scarce, hard form of money that is unlike fiat money, which can be printed without limits.
Despite this characteristic, not everyone is convinced that the halving will have a positive effect on BTC, claiming that it won’t affect the market in any notable way or that the event is already “priced in.”
Analysts Divided on Bitcoin Halving
Jason Williams, co-founder at digital asset fund Morgan Creek Digital, for instance, said at the turn of the month that one of his unpopular opinions is that “Bitcoin halving in May 2020 won’t do anything to the price. It will be a non-event.” This assertion comes in the wake of a strong downturn in the cryptocurrency markets, which has thrown cold water on a lot of the bullish sentiment and narratives being pushed earlier this year.
Unpopular Opinion –
Bitcoin halving in May 2020 won’t do anything to the price. It will be a non-event.
— Jason A. Williams (@GoingParabolic) December 1, 2019
Williams isn’t the only one. Co-founder of Bitmain Jihan Wu said that he believes that a Bitcoin bull run may not follow the halving next year.
Some beg to differ. The Winklevoss Twins of Gemini, for instance, said on the halving:
The bitcoin halvening should already be priced in but isn’t (it never has been) and it therefore will catalyze a large bull run (as it always does).
Johnny Dilley of Mempool Partners echoed this: “Everyone forgets the halving. As we head into the halving, fomo will kick in.”
Why the Halving Doesn’t Matter (That Much)
Whether or not the halving is priced in or not, a top crypto executive has asserted that this industry’s trajectory is decidedly positive at the moment. The executive, CoinList co-founder Andy Bromberg, who recently sat down with Bloomberg to talk “What Will Bitcoin do in 2020?.”
He argued that “we are seeing a level of building that has happened in 2019 [which makes it feel like] we’re in the moment of everyone is putting on their jumpsuits, ready to take off,” referencing the fundamental developments that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchains (and the firms backing them) have seen this year. Bromberg added that this level of building hasn’t been seen since 2017, boding well for prices in the future.
It isn’t only Bromberg who expects for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to have a great year no matter how the halving plays out.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao recently gave a comment on his expectations for the industry in the coming year and into the next decade.
https://twitter.com/zhusu/status/1208204251890995200
Zhao was quoted as saying that he thinks blockchain’s impact will do more than the internet, meaning that the industry will grow, thereby meaning that the prices of the asset underlying this industry, be it Bitcoin, Binance Coin or otherwise, will also see growth. And on the matter of 2020 in specific, he said that “We are also seeing an increasing amount of interest from institutional players which also indicates a more bullish market in 2020.”
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