The Bitcoin halving event is set to occur within the next 24 hours, even as Bitcoin continues trading at a level 15% below its all-time high, which was set more than a month ago.
Bitcoin traded at US$61,900 at 2 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko.
The halving reduces mining rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 Bitcoin per block and is expected to affect the digital currency’s scarcity and market value.
The halving, a feature built into Bitcoin’s protocol to occur roughly every four years, is closely watched by the cryptocurrency community for its potential to increase Bitcoin’s value by reducing supply inflow.
However, JP Morgan analysts, including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, caution that the market may have preemptively accounted for the halving, with Bitcoin’s recent overbought status.
The recent downturn in Bitcoin’s price has been linked to a confluence of factors, such as liquidations in the futures market, geopolitical unrest, and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Despite the current market turbulence, some analysts predict a post-halving recovery in mining stocks as investors identify and back the most resilient companies.
This year’s halving event will include the launch of Runes, a protocol built on Bitcoin that allows the creation of fungible tokens, using unspent and leftover Bitcoin from transactions, known as UTXO.
Runes is considered a simplified alternative for fungible tokens on Bitcoin.
BRC-20 the existing fungible tokens on Bitcoin is often criticized for its complexity.