Will the Hype Around the Bitcoin Halving Event Boost the Crypto’s Usage?

Bitcoin rose to mainstream prominence because of its price. Now, just about everyone knows about Bitcoin, but predominantly as an investment vehicle. Its original purpose was to replace fiat currencies in the digital landscape, removing central bank interventions and allowing pure peer-to-peer transactions.

For this to become a reality, Bitcoin and its crypto kin need adoption to rise. People can still arrive seeking to capitalize on the investment opportunity, but then need to use crypto where they can. Potentially helping to get an influx of new users in 2024 is the much-hyped halving event, which, previously, has led to a significant bump in value for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin halving could promote adoption

Over April 19 and 20, the Bitcoin blockchain underwent a process known as halving. In order to keep the cryptocurrency in check, this halving, as the term suggests, cuts the rewards given to Bitcoin miners by half. While this may not be great news for those who have extensive mining operations, it helps to safeguard against inflation in the Bitcoin economy.

In the past, halving has led to a jump in Bitcoin’s price. The third halving, with the April 2024 halving being the fourth, saw the then-valued $8,601 Bitcoin travel up to $50,941 in less than ten months. In 2016, the second halving made it more than double from $658 to over $1,500 before the 300-day mark. These previous bumps have made Bitcoin halving this year one of the key tellers of the health of the crypto market.

More headlines promoting how well Bitcoin is doing will only bolster crypto adoption further. For now, the halving hasn’t made much of an impact. The oldest crypto’s price has been holding relatively firmly – for such a volatile coin – since the middle of March, bouncing between £57,000 and £47,000 through to late May. If a climb takes hold, there’s a fair chance that the current roughly ten percent of adults in the UK holding crypto will increase.

Preference for a different digital solution

Even with adoption potentially rising with the halving, the use of cryptocurrencies remains very niche. Rather, other digital solutions remain in the ascendancy. Digital wallets are the top payment method in the UK, and it’s easy to see why even if crypto gathers some steam. The big selling points are ease of use and transaction speed both when sending and receiving money.

This is why businesses that operate in sending and receiving cash, like online casinos, load up on a couple of these digital wallets. The prime example is the fast withdrawal casino Hippodrome and its digital wallet options. There are PayPal and Neteller, not to mention Rapid Transfer, which help to give customers the options that they want for convenience and accessibility. In the UK, digital wallets reign supreme for e-commerce.

In 2022, the payment method had left even the most stalwart methods, credit and debit cards, in the dust, boasting a 35 percent share to the 24 and 22 percent share of credit and debit cards, respectively. Similarly, in Australia, PayPal has become the dominant force, with cryptocurrency barely registering in either country as a used form of payment.

Bitcoin’s hitting the headlines again, almost certainly coaxing in more investors, but as it stands, other digital payment methods are simply too convenient for crypto to become the better alternative yet.