u.today
As the Bitcoin community celebrated the completion of another halving event, renowned Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff took to the stage with a warning for BTC holders.
The highly anticipated Bitcoin software update called "halving" has been completed. The modification went into effect as of 8:10 p.m. Friday, New York time, according to data from analytics websites mempool.space and Blockchain.com.
This event, which reduces the reward for mining new blocks by half, is seen by many as a bullish signal for the cryptocurrency's value. However, Schiff's perspective offers a sobering counterpoint to the prevailing optimism.
Peter Schiff, a long-time skeptic of Bitcoin and advocate for gold, warns that the halving may not necessarily lead to the much-expected price increase. He believes that the halving event may ultimately fail to deliver expected gains, resulting in Bitcoin hodlers experiencing a "halving" of their net value, implying a price fall.
Congratulations Bitcoiners on the #Halving. Are you guys commemorating this occasion by throwing parties tonight? I haven't been invited to any. I think halving is an appropriate name for what's happening as soon #Bitcoin #HODLers will experience a halving of their net worths.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 20, 2024
"Congratulations, Bitcoiners, on the Halving. Are you guys commemorating this occasion by throwing parties tonight? I haven't been invited to any. I think halving is an appropriate name for what's happening as soon Bitcoin hodlers experience a halving of their net worths," Schiff wrote in a tweet.
Bitcoin's performance after halving remains under debate
As Bitcoin enters a new chapter following the completion of its latest halving event, the debate over its future trajectory rages on.
Before the halving event, on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock highlighted the trend of BTC price performance following each Bitcoin halving, noting that a bullish trend often emerges and lasts about a year.
Also, miners' BTC holdings reached a 12-year low, implying that miners had been net sellers before the halving.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin whales may have finally begun buying the dip. On April 18, the top Bitcoin holders, who own more than 0.1% of the total supply, added 19,760 Bitcoins to their holdings at an average price of $62,500. Historically, accumulations by these addresses have frequently foreshadowed increases in Bitcoin's price.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading down 2.17% in the last 24 hours to $63,738 as investors took profits following the halving event.