Bitcoin
(BTC)
held
steady
around
$63,700
in
the
aftermath
of
the
cryptocurrency’s
fourth
halving,
an
event
that
upends
the
economics
for
the
miners
who
power
the
Bitcoin
ecosystem.
BTC
recently
barely
moved
from
its
level
right
before
the
840,000th
Bitcoin
block
was
mined
just
as
Saturday
began
in
UTC
time.
Bitcoin
had
slumped
as
low
as
$59,685
on
Friday
before
rebounding
above
$65,000.
The
halving
has
historically
been
a
precursor
to
a
rally
in
the
price
of
bitcoin,
with
the
last
one,
in
May
2020,
giving
way
to
a
run
up
from
$9,500
to
$65,000
during
the
subsequent
year.
But
this
time,
bitcoin
has
already
embarked
on
a
momentous
rally
to
record
highs,
rising
from
$15,500
in
late
2022
to
$73,680,
helped
by
optimism
around
the
approval
of
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
in
the
U.S.
and
then
then
the
ensuing
enthusiasm
after
they
began
trading
in
January.
On
Thursday,
JPMorgan
said
that
it
expected
bitcoin
to
drop
following
the
halving
as
it
remained
in
“overbought
conditions”
based
on
the
high
level
of
open
interest
in
bitcoin
futures.
Goldman
Sachs
added
that
in
order
for
bitcoin
to
emulate
the
success
of
previous
cycles
following
halving
events,
macro
conditions
need
to
be
supportive
of
risk-taking.
Bitcoin
has
traded
between
$59,600
and
$73,860
since
Feb.
28
with
the
upside
of
the
range
being
protected
this
week
alongside
the
backdrop
of
rising
conflict
in
Israel,
which
has
had
a
knock-on
effect
across
all
capital
markets.
A
sell-off
on
April
12
from
$71,000
to
$60,000
wiped
out
$4
billion
in
open
interest
from
the
bitcoin
market,
according
to
Coinalyze.
The
figure
across
all
exchanges
excluding
CME
is
$16.1
billion.