Equally the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold and new signs of lockdowns starting time to exist slowly lifted in Europe, all optics in the crypto customs are back on the Bitcoin (BTC) halving. The event is merely ten days away, and Bitcoin's toll seems to be acting accordingly, having surged an incredible 23% to a monthly high above $9,400 earlier this week.

A widely celebrated event in the cryptocurrency industry, the halving is role of the Bitcoin monetary policy, in which every four years, the Bitcoin mining reward is cut in one-half. This means that on May 11, 6.25 BTC volition exist issued every ten minutes, instead of the current 12.5 BTC.

The upcoming halving will be the tertiary since Bitcoin'due south inception, and the event brings with information technology some bullish views for the nugget's value.

According to PlanB, the creator of the much-discussed "Stock to Flow" model, the reduction in Bitcoin's issuance rate is bound to increase BTC'southward price in the long-run. Recently, the analyst said in a tweet:

"IMO #bitcoin 2022 halving volition be like 2022 & 2022. As per S2F model I look 10x price (lodge of magnitude, not precise) 1–2 yrs afterward the halving. Halving will be make-or-break for S2F model. I hope this halving will teach united states of america more nearly underlying fundamentals & network effects."

Opinions are mixed when information technology comes to the price activity afterwards the halving, however. Some believe it will undoubtedly bring higher prices while others believe that this factor is already accounted for in the current prices, given that information technology'south publicly available knowledge. Other investors disregard the importance of miners and the advantage issuance, as they are convinced that speculation is the sole driver of Bitcoin's price.

Bitcoin mining activity warrants observation

While speculation is a driving strength for Bitcoin's price when it comes to certain bullish or surly cycles, supply and demand is ever at play. Miners are extremely important when it comes to agreement Bitcoin'southward price, as they're the single suppliers of new coins in the market.

Miners create constant sell pressure level by liquidating their newly minted coins in club to pay for their electricity and hosting expenses. While traders take advantage of short-term volatility, miners ultimately "dictate" Bitcoin's price on the supply side.

This is, of course, non as linear every bit it sounds. Volatility will also dictate which miners tin can stay on the network, and if prices drop besides depression, some miners may go bust, as their operations are no longer profitable. A good example of this can be constitute in the infamous March price crash.

Miners are not the only market place players who create sell pressure, only the bulk of volume on exchanges doesn't represent real purchase or sell pressure but, rather, brusk-term moves that traders purchase and sell repeatedly.

As such, miners are the simply actors creating consistent sell pressure level for freshly mined coins. With this in mind, information technology'south important to sympathize what miners have been doing as the halving approaches since their behavior can say a lot about what the mail-halving Bitcoin cost will look like.

When miners movement, markets motion

By analyzing certain transaction patterns through the Bitcoin blockchain, it's possible to extrapolate information that can complement trading strategies. For example, Joe Nemelka, a data analyst, at CryptoQuant, an on-chain data company, recently told Cointelegraph that an increase in miner inflow to exchanges can signal incoming volatility.

According to Nemelka, the percentage of miner inflows to exchanges compared to all other inflows (other exchanges, wallets, etc.) is noticeable. As shown by the chart below, one can as well see some spikes in a higher place 6% in the Miner to Substitution Catamenia Percentage signaled a alter in price trends.

Miner to Exchange Flow Percentage

Miner to Exchange Period Percent. Source: CryptoQuant

Miners liquidate their Bitcoin holdings for a diverseness of reasons, and tracking this, alongside investor sentiment, is valuable for spotting divergences and subtle trend changes.

For example, when exchange inflow from miners is abnormally loftier in a bull marketplace, miners may be profiting and creating increased selling pressure at certain price levels where they feel it would exist wise to sell at.

Conversely, a loftier arrival at times when the price has been declining tin betoken that a big number of mining operations are capitulating — a process that tin can signal a change in the market as more resilient miners hold on to their BTC and decrease sell pressure afterward.

What are miners upward to?

While the Miner to Exchange Period Percentage dataset allows market participants to spot spikes in miner selling pressure level, the Miner Position Index allows u.s.a. to understand trends when information technology comes to miners belongings or selling Bitcoin.

Miner Position Index

Miner Position Index. Source: CryptoQuant

The chart above shows that since January, miners accept been belongings Bitcoin, possibly hoping to sell it at mail-halving prices. Mason Jang, the CSO of CryptoQuant, told Cointelegraph:

"MPI (Miner Position Index) highlights periods where the value of Bitcoin's outflow by miners on a daily ground has historically been extremely high or low. MPI values higher up 2 indicate that nearly of the miners are selling Bitcoin. Besides, If MPI is lower than 0, it means there is less selling pressure by miners. Therefore, it could be a good signal to buy BTC."

Will history repeat itself?

Historically, the Bitcoin halving has been followed by a significant increase in cost, which is also another point in favor of an accentuated price rising following the upcoming fork. Withal, history doesn't ever repeat itself, and although on-concatenation data may aid to navigate the upcoming consequence, it's worth noting that the cryptocurrency market has changed tremendously since the final Bitcoin halving in 2022.

Data from CryptoCompare also shows that 2022 has seen daily trading volumes that are consistently ten times larger than those in 2022. To put this in perspective, in 2022, the total daily Bitcoin volumes on spot exchanges rarely exceeded $ane billion. Fast forward to March 13, 2022, and top-tier exchanges have striking a record-breaking $21.6 billion in daily spot volume.

Daily Total Spot Volume Year by Year

Daily Full Spot Volume Year past Year. Source: CryptoCompare

The chart above shows just how much the market has evolved compared to previous years. Considering the sky-high volumes seen in 2022 and the fact that more marketplace participants are involved, the drop in sell force per unit area from miners is likely to accept a drastic touch on overall Bitcoin sell force per unit area. This means that the upcoming halving may not translate into a massive rally in Bitcoin's cost.

What can we make of this? Although the halving has been a historically bullish issue for Bitcoin, information technology doesn't necessarily hateful it will ever be so. While on-concatenation data is a swell tool to complement ane'south trading and investment strategies, it should be looked at within the broader context.

The market place has matured tremendously since the terminal halving and the new participants have brought college trading volumes and there are more than transparent, accountable, and regulated venues. Furthermore, the current coronavirus pandemic has shown that conventional expectations of market behavior can modify swiftly.