JPMorgan says bitcoin price could drop toward $42,000 after April halving
JPMorgan analysts predict that the bitcoin price will drop to $42,000 after halving, citing reduced miner rewards and higher production costs.The Bitcoin mining industry is expected to further consolidate, with larger miners surviving, according to the analysts.
The halving event will reduce Bitcoin miners' rewards from the current 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC and this reduction will negatively impact miners' profitability and lead to a higher bitcoin production cost, JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a report on Wednesday. The bitcoin production cost influences its price, with the analysts predicting it to be around $42,000 post halving.
"The bitcoin production cost has empirically acted as a lower bound for bitcoin prices," the analysts said. "The central point of our estimated production cost range stands at $26,500 currently, which would mechanically double post halving event to $53,000."
However, the analysts said there is a possibility of a 20% decline in the Bitcoin network's hashrate post halving, primarily due to less efficient rigs exiting mining operations due to reduced profitability. This would consequently lower the central point of the estimated production cost range to $42,000, based on an average electricity cost of 0.05 $/kWh, they added.
"This $42,000 estimate is also the level we envisage bitcoin prices drifting towards once bitcoin-halving-induced euphoria subsides after April," the analysts said.
The current price of bitcoin is trading at around $62,730, according to The Block's prices pages.
Bitcoin mining concentration
Post the halving, Bitcoin miners with below-average electricity costs and more efficient equipment are likely to survive, while those with high production costs would struggle, according to the analysts.
Therefore, the concentration of the Bitcoin mining industry is expected to increase post-halving, they said, with a higher share held by publicly listed Bitcoin miners as they would reduce overall costs to protect profitability.
"There could be also some horizontal integration via mergers and acquisitions among bitcoin miners across regions to take advantage of synergies in their businesses," the analysts concluded.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Bitcoin Blasts Through $71,000 as Crypto Market Gains Steam
Bitcoin Slams $70K as New Meme Coin Pepe Unchained Raises $23M in Presale
Are Decentralized Storage Tokens About to Skyrocket? STORJ and Arweave Price Has Clues
XRP Daily Ledger Activity Reaches 6-Month High