The May Bitcoin halving is approaching fast, and the event is already generating a lot of interest among the broad audience, as the data provided by Google Trends are showing. This is the third time the block reward for the Bitcoin blockchain will be cut in half and because the event had been associated with massive price volatility, the search for new trading/investing opportunities had already started.
Higher interest as compared to 2016
Although Ether-based futures had been recently announced by BitMEX, bringing the second-largest cryptocurrency in the spotlight, Bitcoin should be the main topic during the next few weeks, as the halving is set to take place. According to Google Trends, the interest in the search term “Bitcoin halving” hard already surged past the levels seen in 2016, when the previous halving had taken place.
Aside from the chart above, showing the increased interest on Google, the former head of Bitcoin Magazine’s China operation found a week ago that the Chinese term for Bitcoin halving is viral of Weibo, the social media platform labeled as China’s Twitter.
After the Bitcoin halving, the block reward will be cut in half, to 6.25 BTC per block, a development that’s widely viewed to act as a deflationary pressure. Many analysts associate the Bitcoin halving with a period when a new major bull run in the BTC price starts.
Bitcoin valuation between halving and a global pandemic
Even though the halving is associated with bullish sentiment for Bitcoin, the conditions in 2020 are different as compared to 2016 or 2012, when prior halvings had taken place. Right now we have a global pandemic to deal with, and this is putting a lot of pressure on global financial markets. Bitcoin slumped in March and since then it’s attempting a bottoming, but the uncertainty is far from being over.
Cryptocurrencies are volatile instruments and during a time of crisis, global investors are looking for safe-haven assets to protect their finances. Will the Bitcoin halving create a hype that will make investors ignore the global issues? That’s hard to call right now, but it’s encouraging to see the Bitcoin price showing upbeat momentum.
The price action is getting close to the $8,000 area on the Coinbase exchange at the time of writing. Traders/investors should brace for a spike in volatility during the next two weeks, with the price moving on both directions (bullish or bearish) by a wide margin.
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