Bitcoin
is
still
holding
steady
above
the
$60,000
price
mark,
but
recent
actions
by
miners
could

disturb
this
stability

very
soon.
The
recent
halving
cut
the
block
reward
from
6.25
BTC
to
3.125
BTC,
meaning
miners
now
receive
half
as
much
for
verifying
transactions
and
mining
new
blocks.
As
noted
in
a
recent
report
by
Kaiko,
miner
revenues
have
plummeted
since
the
halving,
and
miners
are
beginning
to
feel
the
pressure. 

Bitcoin
Under
Increased
Pressure

Bitcoin
miners
largely
rely
on
two
revenue
streams
to
keep
operating:
the
mining
reward
and

transaction
fees.
The
Bitcoin
market
is
cyclical
and
each
halving
has
historically
led
to
an
increase
in
selling
pressure
from
the
miners.
Data
shows
that
the
recent
April
halving
has
led
to
a

 

fall
in
the
Bitcoin
hash
rate

with
mining
profitability
now
at
its
lowest
point
in
three
years.

For
miners
with
high
operating
costs,
this
drastic
mining
pay
cut
means
they
have
to
find
other
ways
to
generate
income
and
fund
their
business.
For
many,
the
only
option
is
to
sell
some
of
the
BTC
they
hold.
According
to
findings,
Marathon
Digital
and
Riot
Platforms,
two
of
the
biggest
Bitcoin
miners,
currently
hold
BTC
worth
over
$1.6
billion
between
them.

Interestingly,
the
spike
in

Bitcoin
network
fees

before
and
after
the
halving
has
mostly
offset
operational
costs
and
compelled
the
need
to
sell.
According
to
Kaiko,
network
fees
accounted
for
16%
of
BTC
earned
by
Marathon
Digital
in
April,
a
jump
from
4.5%
in
March.

However,
the
recent
trading
activity
and
volume
decline
in
the
past
few
days
means
revenue
from
the
network
fees
is
dropping
and
the
likelihood
of
miners
selling
their
holdings
is
increasing. 

What’s
Next
For
BTC?

At
the
time
of
writing,
Bitcoin
is
trading
at
$61,888
and
is
on
a
1.20%
decrease
in
the
past
24
hours.
The
next
three
to
six
months
will
be
crucial
in
determining
how
much
the
halving
and
miner
selling
impacts
the
Bitcoin
price.
If
demand
remains
strong
and
most
large
miners
can
weather
the
revenue
drop
without
selling
too
many
of
their
holdings,
the
price
could
hold
steady
and
even
start
to
climb.

 

Fortunately,
there
are
still
a
lot
of

catalysts
for
price
surges

that
could
offset
the
looming
selloff
from
miners.
Hence,
Bitcoin
has
a
good
chance
of

defending
the
$60,000
price
level.
An
example
is
the
mainstream
adoption
of
BTC
through
Spot
Bitcoin
ETFs.
Some
Bitcoin
whales
are
also
taking
advantage
of
the
price
consolidation
to
top
up
their
holdings.
On-chain
data
shows
that
short-term
holder
whales

are
now
accumulating

around
200,000
BTC
per
week. 

Featured
image
from
Money,
chart
from
Tradingview.com

Go to Source
Author: Scott Matherson

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