Bitcoin into the last April weekend 2024 – BTC halving chronicles

In the ever-changing world of cryptocurrencies, few events garner as much attention and have the potential for significant impact as Bitcoin’s halving. April 19 witnessed the fourth halving of Bitcoin, a significant milestone in its ongoing journey.

The recent BTC halving that took place was highly anticipated and spoken about in the industry. Nevertheless, the halving has passed without causing any major disruptions to the industry. Did we accurately assess the situation, or are investors just lacking patience? Well, the data speaks for itself – here are the statistics as the crypto weekend (known for its negative market sentiments) unfolds.

Bitcoin halving – the failed mission

It’s interesting to note that Bitcoin came about as a response to the financial crisis of 2008, which may not be widely known among investors. The creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, attributed the crisis to irresponsible fiscal and monetary policy. Their goal was to develop a new form of digital asset that would serve as “sound money.”

Considering this, Nakamoto incorporated the distinctive halving mechanism into the original Bitcoin algorithm. Halvings take place once approximately every four years, after 210,000 blocks have been added to the Bitcoin blockchain. Once the 210,000th block is added, the reward for mining new blocks is reduced by half.

Past halvings have resulted in price surges and extended periods of bullish market conditions. However, there is a notable distinction with the fourth Bitcoin halving this time, which is the recent emergence of the new spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Based on data from Coinbase, Bitcoin experienced significant surges in value following each halving event. After the first halving, it rallied by 923% in a six-month period. Similarly, after the second halving, it saw a 37% increase in the same timeframe. Following the third halving, Bitcoin’s value surged by 82% in six months. 

There is a strong possibility that Bitcoin could reach the $100,000 mark at some point this year. With Bitcoin’s current price sitting at $63,115, it suggests a potential rally of around 50%.

Currently, the value of BTC stands at $63,115.38. This represents a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to an hour ago and a 1.3% decline since yesterday. The current value of BTC is 1.2% lower than its previous value. 

BTC market performance

The Bitcoin network has achieved another significant milestone, with its daily transactions reaching a peak of 927,000. This surpasses the previous record of 724,000, which was set in December 2023, as reported by on-chain data.

The launch of Runes has caused a significant surge, indicating a rising fascination and usefulness in cryptocurrencies, resulting in a record-breaking level of transaction activity for Bitcoin.

Since its launch following the halving on April 20, Runes, a new token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain, has been responsible for over two-thirds of all BTC transactions, showcasing its dominance in the market. Runes account for a significant majority of the total, with over 2.38 million transactions processed, making up 68%.

On April 23, there was a significant surge in activity on Runes, with over 750,000 transactions recorded. On the next day, there was a notable decline in the transaction count, which dropped to 312,000, less than half of the previous day’s total.

Industry experts seem to have differing opinions on the potential of Runes to provide a stable income stream for BTC miners.

Introducing a new protocol developed by Casey Rodarmor, this innovative solution is touted as a highly efficient method for generating tokens on the Bitcoin network, surpassing the capabilities of BRC-20.

Altcoins market performance slips

The BTC price movements before and after the fourth halving have been rather disappointing. The asset regained some momentum following the Iran-Israel attacks and surpassed $65,000 as the block rewards were reduced.

BTC has experienced a significant drop in value over the past few days, reaching a multi-day low of $62,400 earlier today. According to CoinGecko, BTC’s market cap has fallen to $1.240 trillion, and its dominance over other cryptocurrencies remains below 51%.

The state of the altcoins space is quite concerning at the moment. Solana has experienced a significant and abrupt drop in price. The token has experienced a significant drop of over 5% within a single day and is currently facing challenges as it remains below the $140 mark. Dogecoin experiences a decrease of 3.5%, while Cardano, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, and Polkadot also see declines ranging from 2.75% to 3.6%.