Over the past 15 months, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has absolutely been on fire. It is up over 320% and is currently trading near its all-time high of $73,750. Right now, Bitcoin has a market cap of more than $1 trillion. So, what if I told you that Bitcoin was just getting started and that it could gain another $1 trillion in market cap by the end of 2025?
Yes, you would have plenty of reasons to roll your eyes or laugh politely. But there is an upcoming event — the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving — that many Wall Street analysts think could help Bitcoin double in value and gain another $1 trillion in market cap within the next 12 months. Are they right?
The logic behind the Bitcoin halving
The first thing you need to know is that the Bitcoin halving will come and go on or about April 19, and you probably won’t even know it happened. You won’t see millions of people gathering in specific locales to cheer on the event, as we recently saw with the total solar eclipse. And you won’t see Satoshi Nakamoto — the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin — making the rounds on late-night TV. At best, you’ll see mentions of #Bitcoin blowing up in your social media feeds.
That’s because everything happens algorithmically and not in the real world. Approximately every four years, the Bitcoin algorithm readjusts such that the mining rewards for Bitcoin miners are slashed by one-half. Currently, they receive 6.25 BTC for every block they add to the Bitcoin blockchain; on or about April 19, they will receive 3.125 BTC.
Image source: Getty Images.
Another way of thinking about this, however, is that the rate of new Bitcoin creation is being cut in half. And this has enormous economic consequences. It enhances the scarcity of Bitcoin, making it much more attractive as a long-term investment. According to the algorithm, the total lifetime supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins. The current circulating supply is already 19.7 million coins, so 94% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist has already been created!
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This is why many analysts suggest that there could be a very real “supply squeeze” or “supply shock” as everyone…
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