The Bitcoin network has mined block 800,000, leaving only 40,000 blocks to mine before the next halving of the network’s mining reward. According to market researcher Dylan LeClair’s Twitter post on July 24, the 800,000th block contained 3,721 transactions totaling 1.64 megabytes, and Bitcoin was trading at $29,815 per coin.
Crypto enthusiasts celebrate the BTC milestone
The milestone was extensively shared across the social media platform on July 24, with Bitcoin advocates and industry commentators hailing it as an indicator of network security and resiliency:
Bitcoin’s block height refers to its position on the blockchain relative to the number of blocks that preceded it, counting back to the network’s foundation block, the genesis block. Transactions and data are packaged into blocks by network miners.
The metric represents a chronological order of network transactions and blocks, with each new block connected to the one before it in a chain. This enables users to determine the chronological order of transactions.
Block height is also a measure of the immutability of the Bitcoin blockchain. The more blocks that are added to the chain, the more computing power is required for an adversary to attempt to meddle with previous blocks.
The BTC network generates a new block every 10 minutes on average. This metric is affected by the addition of hashing power to the network and is automatically adjusted every two weeks to sustain equilibrium.
The block height also determines how much BTC miners receive for adding a new block to the network. BTC is designed to have a block-halving event every four years or every 210,000 blocks.
In 2009, the initial block reward was 50 BTC, which was then halved to 25 BTC in 2012, 12.5 BTC in 2016, and the current 6.25 BTC in 2020.
The next halving will take place in April 2024, with the most recent block reward decreasing to 3.125 BTC. Historically, halving events have coincided with significant price increases for BTC and the broader crypto market.
Why is the Bitcoin price down today?
The bullish trend that drove Bitcoin to a 76% year-to-date gain has nearly vanished as BTC’s price momentarily fell below $29,000 on July 24. The decline in Bitcoin’s price has prompted some analysts to warn that BTC could still fall to $19,000 in the event of a significant market shift.
As a result of the Federal Reserve’s decision to halt interest rate hikes on June 14, crypto traders experienced a brief period of bullish sentiment. However, Fed Chief Jerome Powell has expressed his commitment to reducing inflation by resuming rate hikes on multiple occasions.
The next meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) concludes on July 26, and the market appears to be confident that the Fed will begin increasing interest rates again. The FedWatch tool from CME displays the market’s preponderant belief that the next FOMC meeting will result in such rate hikes. As of the 24th of July, the likelihood of future interest rate increases is 98.9%.
In addition, crypto prices remain highly correlated with the Dow and S&P 500, and the majority of major banks still anticipate a severe recession in the United States in 2023.
According to an analysis by U.S. Bank that incorporates over a thousand data points, investor sentiment regarding the present state of the economy remains negative.
Exchange inflow is one method for tracking whale BTC movement, but it does not capture the full picture when accounting for Bitcoin, which leaves exchanges via outflow. After subtracting the inflow from the outflow, data can reveal the total BTC exchange net flow.
Throughout the months of June and July, the whale-to-exchange net flow metric fluctuated between 4,000 and 6,500 BTC per day.
Crypto markets suffer under the US’s continued crypto crackdown
In spite of the recent surge of institutional interest in Bitcoin, the actions of U.S. regulators remain undetermined. While the SEC has previously stated that Bitcoin is not a security, some market analysts are pondering whether the recent increase in actions is a renewed attempt by Operation Chokepoint 2.0 to restrict access to all digital currencies.
Despite losing a lawsuit against Ripple in a summary judgment ruling issued by a federal district judge on July 13, the SEC appears likely to appeal the decision. And while a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators, including Rep.
Richie Torres and Rep. Warren Davidson are urging SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to clarify his position on cryptocurrencies, Gensler has requested more than $2.4 billion to pursue “noncompliance”.
