Breaking: The Bitcoin halving is here!

There has not been a massive instant reaction to the halving event as some people and analysts had been expecting. Sometimes these events fail to live up to their expectations or have a delayed effect. At the moment the bulls and bears are fighting around the 8500.00 level but there has been a notable pick up in volume over the last couple of hours. Earlier on the day, there was a large sell-off that saw the price break down to 8106.70 and there has been a firm low in place on the intraday charts. 

Bitcoin’s anonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto decided there would only be 21 million BTC. The creators wanted new coins to be released gradually into the market and at the same time, it was very important for a generous supply of Bitcoin to start circulating sooner rather than later. 

In the beginning, the reward stood at 50 BTC per block. This was less than a single dollar back in 2009. For this upcoming halving event, the total number of Bitcoin earned by miners per block will be reduced from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC per block. Therefore, in theory, reducing supply.

There could be some temporary implications of mining times. This is because the change will lead to slower block times as many miners, particularly the smaller players, will no longer be able to cover their costs and have to go out of business.

BTC/USD 10-minute chart

The chart below shows the extent of the volatility today as the market participants edged towards the halving. Now it has been done, there was minimal reaction right at the time but the BTC/USD did push away from session lows. 

The key resistance level to keep an eye on is 9200.00 and the support is the session low at 8106.70.

Additional levels