TECH

Bitcoin keeps price after halving: what does that mean?

The main event of the year for the bitcoin market, halving, happened yesterday (11). Thousands of investors fervently anticipated the moment, exchanges made lives on the eve of the event, and popular crypto news sites like Cointelegraph had their own countdowns for the bitcoin offering to be officially cut in half.
Moments before halving took place, the cryptocurrency fluctuated between $8,500 and $9,000. Now, 24 hours after halving, nothing has changed. But experts explain that all the commotion was not in vain, and the numbers can prove it.
Halving happens on average every 4 years, when the demand for bitcoins is cut in half as the miners' reward falls in the same proportion.
In previous previous events, bitcoin's value has seen astronomical highs, ranging from $12 to nearly $1,000 in the first post-halving, for example. But nothing happens automatically. To explain how the market responds to halving, Forbes Brasil spoke with two experts on the subject, one of them is the country manager of the Ripio crypto platform in Brazil, Ricardo Da Ros.
"The first important thing to talk about halving is that exactly what was expected happened: nothing," explained Da Ros. "It is not an event with immediate effect, we will see medium to long term results." The first signs of halving rise come in about six months, and the peak is only reached between 12 and 18 months.
But patience is a virtue that crypto investors already have. With currency volatility, it is common to only see a significant profit in the long run, but when that profit occurs, there is no way to ignore it - see the first post-halving. Da Ros explains that it is not possible to predict exactly the intensity or speed of this valuation, but it is inevitable. "The future cannot be predicted, but the expectation is, yes, to rise."
Halving is a simple case of supply and demand. The supply falls, and if the demand at least remains the same, then the value goes up. In the case of Ripio, the company saw a 163% increase in volume traded in the months of March and April compared to January and February.
This increase is reflected in the market as a whole. BitcoinTrade broker COO Daniel Coquieri reported that so far, the month of May has already exceeded R$100 million(local currency) traded, and the company has seen a 45% increase in demand this year. For Coquieri, the halving hype is just one of the reasons behind this increase in demand. "The number of bitcoin wallets with small values ​​has been going up," Coquieri explained. This represents new investors entering the market mainly due to the crisis. "Stock exchanges around the world have fallen, and investors of good asset classes will lack options." That's where bitcoin comes in, for many a new world, away from very low interest rates and falling yields. At the moment, the volatility that bitcoin presents is the same as that offered by traditional assets.
But Coquieri recommends that new investors start with a small percentage of their portfolio in this market and take risks little by little, really understanding how this scenario works. "Investors need to consider this asset class that is so new as an option to expose themselves, it is past time for them to look at the crypto market."
Da Ros's tip is to choose an amount to invest in bitcoin every week or every month for a long period of time, and over time, watch your assets grow with the market boom.
The crypto market is not completely independent of the crisis or the pandemic, and bitcoin is not an infallible investment. Bitcoin investors had their other assets affected by the crisis, and this is reflected in the crypto market. But, for both experts, the moment can be very propitious to see cryptocurrency as an alternative to traditional assets that are constantly falling, especially with the new potential brought by halving.

Mariana Labbate-Brazil