Crypto dreams and reality collide again in Bitcoin heartbreak rerun

After recording a remarkable price surge in the past seven months, Bitcoin lost over 16% in April making it the worst month for the cryptocurrency since November 2022. This marks a notable shift from the euphoria of the hype cycle built around the Bitcoin halving event that occurred on April 18. The downward spiral is triggered mainly because of outflows from spot ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in the US. ET explains the factors behind current market volatility.

What is Bitcoin Halving?

Bitcoin halving is a once-in-four-years event when the supply of BTC is cut into half, making the currency more valuable. The last halving occurred on April 18, 2024, when reward for each BTC miner was cut from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, thus cutting the overall new currency supply into half.

What has been the price movement after this halving cycle?

The coin, which touched an all-time high of $75,830 on March 14, started falling into red on April 13 when it was priced at $67,188. Since then, BTC has touched as low as $56,858 on May 2 when BlackRock and Grayscale ETFs saw outflows for the first time.

What are the other factors at play?

Sumit Gupta, cofounder, CoinDCX, said, “The post-halving stagnation in Bitcoin’s price suggests that the event was likely already factored into the market, with investors adjusting their behaviour beforehand, mitigating the anticipated price surge.” He said macroeconomic factors such as recent interest rate hikes and geopolitical tensions, like the Israel-Iran conflict, are exerting downward pressure on Bitcoin prices.