The amount of Bitcoin available on digital currency exchanges could be gone in nine months due to the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, which will decrease the supply by half.
According to an April 15 report by Bybit, if the demand from US Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) keeps up, there may not be enough Bitcoin left in exchange reserves after the next halving.
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Centralized exchanges have been experiencing a rapid depletion of Bitcoin reserves. Currently, only 2 million Bitcoins are left on these platforms. Assuming a daily inflow of $500 million to Bitcoin Spot ETFs, this could contribute to approximately 7,142 bitcoins being removed from exchange reserves each day.
NEW: Bybit predicts a #Bitcoin supply shortage will occur on exchanges in the next nine months 🚀
— BlockNews.com (@blocknewsdotcom) April 16, 2024
Consequently, all remaining reserves could be consumed within a predicted timeframe of just nine months.
Bitcoin reserves on central trading platforms have dwindled to a near three-year low, with just 1.94 million BTC remaining as of April 16, based on data from CryptoQuant. This news emerged amidst a broader market decline, which witnessed Bitcoin’s value drop by over 10% in the past week, settling at $62,924 at 1:36 pm UTC, as shown by CoinMarketCap.
It is expected that Bitcoin prices will start to recover from the current correction. The report further suggests that Bitcoin’s price may continue to climb before or even after the halving. The supply squeeze is believed to propel the price to another new record.
Bitcoin ETF’ weekly inflows dip since march
Since March, the money flowing into Bitcoin ETFs each week has decreased. Last week, these ETFs added over $199 million, which is lower than the $2.58 billion added in the starting week of March, as stated by Dune Analytics.
Despite the recent downturn, spot Bitcoin ETFs have gathered more than 841,000 BTC, valued at $52.9 billion. According to Dune’s data, they’ve drawn in a net amount of over $12.7 billion since their start.
Since September 2023, investors have been buying more Bitcoin. According to Bybit’s report from February 24, big institutions are now investing an average of 40% of their total assets in Bitcoin. On the other hand, small investors are investing an average of 24% of their assets in cryptocurrency.
Bybit highlighted the growing trend of crypto-native companies and traditional institutions gaining more exposure to Bitcoin. This exposure is primarily through ETFs or proxy stocks such as MicroStrategy.
They predicted an increase in this trend. The exchange shared insights suggesting that not all institutions have managed to gain exposure since the Bitcoin Spot ETF approval in January 2024. They attribute this to investment mandates that prevent institutions from investing in new products that have been in the market for just a few months.
Bitcoin price dips below $60,000 ahead of halving
The once-every-four-year Bitcoin event, known as the halving, is just around the corner. However, Bitcoin’s price isn’t displaying much vigor ahead of this significant financial milestone.
On late April 18, Bitcoin’s price dropped below $60,000 for the first time since February’s end, reaching a low point of $59,573 on the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitcoin’s value has been trending downward, dropping almost 14% in the past week. Since reaching a record high of $73,737 a little over a month ago, Bitcoin’s price has dipped by 18%.
Bitcoin’s price recently took a slight downturn. Even though it has climbed back to around $60,945, it’s still down by over 1%. The price fell dramatically from over $63,000 to less than $60,000 within two hours.
News of heightened geopolitical tension surfaced on April 18 as reported explosions occurred near an Iranian military base. It has been reported by a US official on CNN that Israel was behind the attack.
With limited details available, this reported conflict comes after Iran launched a series of missile and drone attacks on Israel last Saturday. Coincidentally, cryptocurrency prices fell sharply during these incidents.
Other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Solana, have experienced significant decreases in value over the last few hours, but they are starting to recover. The upcoming Bitcoin halving might take some wind out of Bitcoin’s sails. This cutback often leads to a boost in Bitcoin’s value as supply becomes scarcer.
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