The highly anticipated “halving” of Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to happen soon, and according to experts, its impact will be felt differently by miners and investors.
Omid Malekan, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School and author of “Re-Architecting Trust The Curse of History and the Crypto Cure for Money, Markets, and Platforms,” said the halving event is an important event for those who own Bitcoin as a store of value. He explains that it is not a cause for concern. However, the situation is different for miners.
“For people who own Bitcoin because they think it is a good store of value, this halving is not that big of a deal. But for miners, this is a huge deal,” Malekan said in his statement.
While the halving itself does not directly affect Bitcoin's price, anticipation of the event can lead to erratic price movements. Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth, a certified financial planner and Bitcoin owner since 2014, explains:
“As the halving approaches, speculation typically increases, potentially leading to high volatility in the Bitcoin market. Investors may purchase Bitcoin in anticipation of potential price increases, but there is no certainty or guarantee of this, and frankly this only increases volatility.”
“You would think that having a limited supply would always mean the price would go up, but that's not true,” Boneparth said.
“If that is your thesis, then you are not taking into account the countless factors that could cause the price of Bitcoin to move any way on any given day.”
*This is not investment advice.