When did you first hear about Bitcoin? Was it the end of 2017? Or perhaps the past halving? Both events are cyclical and somewhat symbolic elements. They are very often what draw our attention to cryptocurrencies. They cause the interest in Bitcoin to grow. In this article we will discuss just such moments, i.e. the most popular cyclical events in the blockchain world.
Halving
Halving is the moment when the amount of cryptocurrency mined by miners is halved. In simplest terms, this is the moment with which they will be paid less for their work based on the Proof of Work algorithm. For the market, this is usually very good news, as it makes the supply of cryptocurrency jump, which in the long run has the chance to increase the price.
The most popular halving concerns Bitcoin, of course. The last one took place in May 2020. That was when the reward for miners decreased from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. This event takes place every 210,000 blocks, which is approximately 4 years.
And if you are interested in how cryptocurrencies can be sourced and how the different algorithms differ, please read the article titled “Proof of Work and Proof of Stake”.
Peaks of speculative bubbles
There are no events in the world of cryptocurrencies that are more spectacular and more powerfully remembered than bursting bubbles. Again, the most popular ones are the ones on Bitcoin. Bubbles are moments when the price of a cryptocurrency reaches another historical peak, followed by a decline and a few years of waiting for the peak to be overcome again. It should be mentioned here that a bursting bubble, despite the fact that it is often given a negative narrative, is nothing bad at all. It is an element inherent in the classic adoption process. The repetition of bubbles is proof of this. They appear thanks to regular cycles. The easiest way to observe them is on a macro scale. We are talking about a bull market and a bear market. A bull market is a period which usually starts before halving and is responsible for price increases. The bear market, on the other hand, is the time after the price peak and looking for the so-called bottom of value. It is inherent in the life cycle of cryptocurrencies and usually causes quite deep and at times dynamic price declines.
Interest and adoption
The events surrounding Bitcoin cause interest in it to grow. The rising price attracts network users. Some come here to make money, others to stay permanently. We mention this because interest in Bitcoin itself is also (for the time being) a cyclical event. This is what drives the price up, which in turn drives the interest up even more. It is a kind of self-perpetuating machine. It is similar with adoption – it grows with interest. And you can read about its progress in the article under the title “Global adoption of cryptocurrencies”.
