Bitcoin enthusiasts anticipated Friday’s ‘halving’, a scheduled change in the cryptocurrency’s protocol aimed at reducing the rate of new bitcoin creation.

Occurring approximately every four years, the halving is a fundamental aspect of Bitcoin’s design, limiting the total supply of bitcoins to 21 million tokens.

Chris Gannatti of WisdomTree described the halving as a significant event in the crypto world.

While some view it as a testament to bitcoin’s scarcity, skeptics regard it as a mere technical adjustment hyped by speculators.

The halving reduces the rewards for cryptocurrency miners, making it costlier to introduce new bitcoins into circulation, Reuters reported.

Despite bitcoin’s previous price surge to an all-time high in March, reaching $73,803.25, its value has since fluctuated, trading at $63,800 on Thursday.

The enthusiasm around the halving has been tempered by analysts’ cautious outlook, with some predicting a post-halving price decline due to overbuying and subdued venture capital funding in the crypto industry.

Nonetheless, financial regulators caution against the high-risk nature of bitcoin, despite its increasing acceptance in trading products.

Andrew O’Neill of S&P Global expressed skepticism about deriving price predictions solely from past halving events, emphasizing the multitude of factors influencing bitcoin’s value.

Amid geopolitical tensions and expectations of prolonged central bank rate hikes, bitcoin’s direction remains uncertain following its March peak.

Written by B.C. Begley