By: Roxanne Williams
Like Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and other major altcoins, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) protocol also witnesses a major halving mechanism that happens every 4 years or 210,000 blocks on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain network. Once 210,000 blocks are added to Bitcoin Cash, the rewards miners in BCH receive are cut in half.
The first BCH halving occurred in April 2020, during which 630,000 blocks were mined. The next BCH halving will take place in 2024 at block 840,000. Bitcoin Cash has a predictable supply schedule, so we can accurately estimate the amount of BCH created in a particular day, month, or year.
In this article, we will focus more on BCH halving and how it will impact the market.
The Purpose of Halving
Bitcoin Cash halving first took place in 2020 as an independent crypto. BCH was developed in 2017 after Bitcoin’s hard fork. Bitcoin Cash shares many features with Bitcoin. Currently, BCH miners receive 6.25 BCH for every block added to the blockchain. This is also similar to Bitcoin. After the next BCH halving event, the reward will be reduced to 3.125 BCH.
Crypto investors generally pay attention to the impact on rewards after a block-halving event since it increases the scarcity of crypto. Essentially, Bitcoin Cash halving is seen as a positive event as far as BCH prices are concerned. Nevertheless, the crypto market is still quite young, and there is little history to serve evidence and help investors make educated decisions.
This is especially true for Bitcoin Cash since only one halving event has taken place ever since its launch. The halving policy takes place to counteract inflation by maintaining BCH scarcity. Theoretically speaking, the decrease in the speed of Bitcoin Cash issuance implies that the BCH price will rise if the demand for BCH remains the same.
Historical Halvings
Bitcoin Cash had only one halving event on 8 April 2020, which should have coincided with that of Bitcoin, but it did not. This is because BCH uses a different algorithm for mining that enables faster speed for block mining, thereby preponing the date of BCH halving than that of Bitcoin. The halving event started at block 630,000, after which BCH experienced a massive drop in its price.
After the event finally occurred, the Bitcoin Cash price dropped considerably immediately after the coin’s first halving because the traders were using the “buy the rumor, sell the news” strategy. Around 6 weeks later, Bitcoin Cash’s price went 14% lower than its value during the halving event and later remained around the same price level for about six months.
Bitcoin Cash is a unique blockchain network for halving events because users struggle to find a blockchain network with more doubt and scrutiny surrounding the events. Miners are most impacted by crypto halving events since the block mining rewards are cut in half.
With Bitcoin Cash, since the crypto uses the same Bitcoin mining mechanics, it is easy for miners to jump between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash hassle-free. BCH halving has resulted in a significant number of miners leaving the network to get better profits elsewhere. Exiting from the Bitcoin Cash network made the mining difficulty levels increase. This has made Bitcoin Cash halving more unprofitable for current miners to mine BCH tokens. Given the current cycle, the upcoming BCH halving event is a controversial topic. However, this is just speculation since no one can predict the halving event in 2024.
Market Expectations and Impact of Halvings on BCH
The next Bitcoin Cash halving event will occur in 2024, with 31,734 remaining blocks. The block reward after the second Bitcoin Cash halving event will be reduced from 6.25 BCH to 3.125 BCH. The predicted BCH price is expected to start at $293.02 in 2024 and finish at $447.58 by the end of the year. The average expected BCH price is most likely to fluctuate around $370.30.
Based on the historical price movements and Bitcoin Cash prediction, the yearly low BCH price for 2024 is estimated at $290. It may go as high as $450 by the end of 2024. Similar to other crypto assets, Bitcoin Cash price action is also driven by demand and supply.
Major fundamental events like block reward halving, protocol updates, and hard forks influence the dynamics. Historically, the cyclical nature of Bitcoin Cash halving, which takes place every four years, plays a pivotal role in the crypto markets.
Conclusion
Bitcoin Cash and other crypto halvings have become a major fundamental event for crypto investors since it has become interesting to follow how the crypto market develops and reacts around Bitcoin Cash and how BCH issuance is affected as the halving events become more pronounced.
The next Bitcoin Cash housing event will take place in 2024, during which the reward for mining BCH will be reduced from 6.25 BCH to 3.125 BCH. These block records will serve as a mechanism to control BCH supply and keep inflation in check.
So, is BCH worth buying? The answer solely relies on market sentiment, as no one really knows how investors will react to the BCH price action after the next halving event takes place in 2024.
