For more than ten years, the quadrennial event of Bitcoin’s halving has brought joy to early Bitcoin holders and instilled fear in inefficient crypto miners. While some secretly hope for an end to the profitability reduction that has bankrupted companies in the past, most miners agree that it is what makes Bitcoin special and will remain a part of its design. Kristian Csepcsar, chief of propaganda at Bitcoin mining infrastructure firm Braiins, stated, “We as miners embrace and cherish halvings, but of course, we also fear them a bit.”
There have been concerns that the upcoming Bitcoin halving event on April 20th could lead to the closure of some Bitcoin miners, especially if the price of Bitcoin fails to exceed the cost of mining. Csepcsar explained, “Miners are true Bitcoiners at heart, so even though halvings put extreme pressure on the mining industry, we all understand why they are an integral part of Bitcoin’s design.”
Some Bitcoin mining firms, like Hut 8, see the halving as an opportunity to strengthen their competitiveness. CEO Asher Genoot stated, “We have prepared for the halving by restructuring our business and focusing on being a low-cost operator.” Hut 8 only mines when it is profitable and maintains a strong balance sheet with over 9,100 BTC to invest in growth.
Jaran Mellerud, co-founder of Hashlabs Mining, believes that Bitcoin miners may like the idea of getting rid of the halving, but he emphasized that the Bitcoin network is controlled by node operators, not miners. He questioned whether it would even be possible to eliminate the halving, stating that it would require a hard fork. However, he argued that this would break one of the key features that Bitcoiners love about the cryptocurrency.
Nicholas Safford, general partner at New Layer Capital, explained that while some miners may support eliminating the halving, full nodes have significant control over the Bitcoin network and may not agree. He stated, “If a group of miners wanted to implement such a proposal, they would need to hard fork the Bitcoin network, after which point, the new cryptocurrency would cease to be Bitcoin.”
While miners fear the halving due to the potential increase in operational costs, industry executives and advocates believe that halvings are ultimately beneficial and will continue to be a part of Bitcoin. Ben Gagnon, chief mining officer at Bitfarms, stated, “Halvings ensure a smooth curve toward the 21 million Bitcoin supply cap and the need for continuously improving energy efficiency.” He also noted that the global mining activity has grown exponentially with each halving epoch.
In conclusion, while there may be concerns and fears surrounding the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, most industry insiders believe that halvings are an essential aspect of Bitcoin’s design and will continue to shape its future.