On February 28, Mike McGlone, a Senior Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, shared his outlook on Bitcoin and the upcoming halving during an interview on Bloomberg Radio with Paul Sweeney and Alix Steel. The discussion explored several key aspects of Bitcoin’s future and the broader cryptocurrency market.
McGlone explained that the Bitcoin halving is an event set to occur in April, where the reward for mining new blocks is halved, thus reducing the supply of new Bitcoins entering the market from 900 to 450 Bitcoins per day. This event, which occurs every four years, is a fundamental aspect of Bitcoin’s design to control inflation and increase scarcity.
He highlighted the significant interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs, noting a substantial inflow of investments. Just in the last week, there was an influx of $1 billion into Bitcoin ETFs, with a total of $7 billion since their launch on January 11. McGlone emphasized the packed attendance at a spot Bitcoin ETF panel during a recent ETF conference, indicating a growing interest from professional money managers in cryptocurrency investments.
The conversation also touched on the technical aspect of Bitcoin’s halving, explaining it as a coded mechanism that automatically reduces the mining reward. This design contrasts with traditional commodities, which often face price fluctuations due to varying supply conditions. McGlone said that Bitcoin’s unique supply mechanism contributes to its appeal as an investment compared to most commodities, which are in bear markets.
McGlone pointed out Bitcoin’s emergence as an alternative currency on a global scale, with the U.S. approving spot Bitcoin ETFs and China increasing its gold reserves. He suggested that the world is moving towards intangible assets, with Bitcoin leading the way in the cryptocurrency space.
When asked about how to value Bitcoin, McGlone mentioned looking at the hash rate, which reflects the amount of computing power and transactions in the Bitcoin network. He also referred to the volume of dollars via tokens, like Tether, which trades at double the volume of Bitcoin, to illustrate the cryptocurrency market’s growth and Bitcoin’s leading role.
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