The Historical Price Impact of a Block Reward Halving on Bitcoin and Litecoin

There are many different factors which can influence the price of any cryptocurrency. In most cases, it is a matter of supply and demand across different exchanges. With Bitcoin and Litecoin, that situation is slightly different. Both currencies have seen at least one block reward halving which had some interesting price-related consequences. Both currencies will go through another halving relatively soon, which has many traders excited. 

The Bitcoin Block Reward Halvings to Date

In March of 2009, Bitcoin saw the light of date courtesy of Satoshi Nakamoto. It is clear for everyone to see the first block reward, which sat at 50 BTC, allowed millions of Bitcoin to be brought into circulation in the 44.5 months following that date. A total of 10,500,000 BTC were brought into circulation when the first block reward halving kicked in on November 28, 2012. Prior to that date, one Bitcoin was halving at $12.22, a more than respectable value at that time.

Following this halving, it quickly became apparent the value per BTC continued to rise rather strongly. This was during the early days of Mt. Gox and the subsequent price decline when the exchange collapsed. A second block reward halving occurred on July 9, 2016, 3.5 years after the first block reward reduction. With the reward now dropping from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC, traders expected bigger things to happen. It is crucial to note one BTC was valued at $657.61 when this second halving kicked in,  representing a 5,300% increase in value compared to the first halving. 

As every block reward halving ensures fewer BTC are brought into circulation, it is plausible to assume this Bitcoin price trend will continue along its upward path. Right now, one Bitcoin is valued at just over $11,000, which is another 1,670% increase in value compared to July of 2016. Considering how the next Bitcoin halving won’t happen until mid-2020, it remains to be seen what kind of price point trader swill have to contend with at that given time. 

The Litecoin Block Reward Halving to Date

As most people are well aware of by now, Litecoin came into existence well after Bitcoin was first introduced. That is not exactly a problem by any means, as this currency has always been labeled as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”. In terms of its price chart and associated block reward halving, there are some interesting correlations to keep in mind. It is evident a reward halving can do wonders for the price, albeit Litecoin sees far less spectacular trends. 

To put this in perspective, Litecoin has seen one block reward halving to date. This event occurred on August 26 of 2015. Interestingly enough, the Litecoin price suffered from a massive decline between late 2014 and a few weeks prior to the halving itself. In June of 2015, the value started moving up again, albeit it maintained a status quo following the halving until mid-2017. One LTC maintained a value ranging between $2.8 and $6 for that entire time, after falling to $1.3 in the months prior to June. 

Once the Litecoin price showed some big movements in 2017, it quickly rose to a peak of roughly $320. This was during the crazy year 2017, although the subsequent decline also caused issues for Litecoin, as its value hit $27 at one point. Quick a sharp retrace, albeit the downtrend has been broken a few weeks ago. Following some hefty price action, one LTC shot up as high as $144, before eventually settling near the $120 mark. 

The bigger question is how the upcoming block reward halving will affect the value of Litecoin. The next halving occurs in August of 2019, which could very well result in another period of consolidation for Litecoin. Unlike Bitcoin, this altcoin seems to struggle to note immediate value gains following a halving.  Whether or not this time around will be different, is very difficult to predict. Anything can happen in this volatile industry, especially when people least expect it. 

Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The above article is for entertainment and education purposes only. Please do your own research before purchasing or investing into any cryptocurrency or digital currency.