Bitcoin traders ignore “half-life” to focus on broader market risks

Bitcoin's so-called half-life event has had little impact on the price so far, and industry insiders said Monday that the cryptocurrency's fate is more closely tied to broader financial market sentiment and geopolitics.

Bitcoin enthusiasts have been waiting for a “half-life.” This is a change to the basic technology of virtual currency that was carried out around 0:14 GMT on Saturday, and the purpose is to lower the generation speed of new bitcoins.

This change takes place every 4 years, and some cryptocurrency fans see a price increase after the previous half-lifeSigns that Bitcoin will rise againI pointed that out.

By 14:15 (GMT) on Monday, there was little visible impact, and Bitcoin was trading at $66,300. It rose 1.2% last week and rose 3.4% on Monday, but since the all-time high of $73,794 was hit last month, it's almostStruggling with a sense of directionDoing it.

Mick Roche, a senior trader at Standard Chartered's virtual currency division Zodiac Markets, said, “The ongoing geopolitical events are having a bigger impact than the effects of the half-life period. In other words, it is likely that the tension between Iran and Israel will ease,” he said.

World stocks recovered some losses on Monday as investors reversed part of the defensive stance they had taken due to concerns about the escalating Middle East conflict.

Eric Demus (CEO) of Austrian cryptocurrency broker Bitpanda said that Bitcoin is increasingly dependent on widespread market sentiment, and there is no clear pattern in retail trading activity around the half-life period.

He said, “Cryptocurrency is already very similar to stocks. The same people who trade stocks and tech stocks are also interested in cryptocurrencies,” he said.

Due to the excitement surrounding US regulatory approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin was able to recover from a series of crashes last year and 2022.

Etro's global market strategist Ben Laidler said Bitcoin's focus is currently on “institutionalization.”

Laidler said that although Bitcoin is dominated by individual investors, he anticipates that future regulatory changes may make it easier for companies, banks, and central banks to own bitcoins.

According to market tracker CoinGecko, cryptocurrencies are still a niche asset class, and their total value isApproximately 2.5 trillion dollarsThat's it.

Regulators have warned that they are speculative, risky, and have limited real-world applications.

The virtual currency market is also waiting to see if the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a spot ETF for Ether, which is the second-largest virtual currency, but Mr. Demus and Mr. Roche said thatExpectations that it will come true in May are fadingIt was said.