The next Bitcoin halving event is less than nine months away, and the consensus opinion among analysts and investors is that the halving will send Bitcoin’s price to a new all-time high or even above $100,000.
Despite this belief, the absence of fresh inflow to the crypto market, the current macroeconomic headwinds and Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent price action below $30,000 do not inspire much confidence in this theory in the short term.
In a recent interview with Paul Barron, Hut 8 vice president Sue Ennis shared her thoughts on how the Bitcoin price will rise above $100,000 in the next year and how the upcoming halving will impact BTC miners. Hut 8 currently has a balance of 9,152 BTC in reserve, of which 8,305 is unencumbered. The company’s installed ASIC hash rate capacity sits at 2.6 exahashes per second, and Hut 8 mined 44.6 BTC in July.
In the interview, Barron inquired whether rising Bitcoin difficulty for miners could induce a fresh wave of sell pressure against BTC. Citing data from Hashrate Index, Barron observed that spikes in Bitcoin difficulty were followed by drops in BTC’s price.
Bitcoin price, difficulty and difficulty adjustment. Source: Hashrate Index
Barron questioned if miners were selling Bitcoin as a result of the upcoming halving creating a need for more efficient ASICs and whether BTC’s pre- and post-halving price action would not be as bullish as investors expected.
According to Ennis:
“There’s a lot of really unprecedented dynamics that are happening now in the mining space. […] What’s interesting is hash rate continues to come online despite Bitcoin price trading in a certain band. […] We’re still seeing hash rate increase.”
Ennis elaborated with:
“What’s changed now is that we’re seeing Bitcoin price come down a little, but hash rate continues to go up. […] I think what’s really exciting and different is we’re seeing a tremendous amount of new entrants into the global Bitcoin network.”
Ennis referenced six gigawatts of nuclear and renewable energy being generated in the Middle East, and with the region’s governments exploring Bitcoin mining as an…
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