Key Points
- Bitcoin’s issuance rate has fallen below gold’s following its fourth halving event.
- The impact of Bitcoin halving events on its traded supply may be diminishing over time.
After its fourth halving, the issuance rate of Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped below that of gold, marking a significant milestone in its comparison to the precious metal.
Bitcoin’s Historic Milestone
Analysts at Glassnode noted that for the first time in history, the steady-state issuance rate of Bitcoin (0.83%) is now lower than that of gold (around 2.3%). This shift denotes a historic change in the title of the scarcest asset.
The recent halving event saw the block subsidy decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block, resulting in an issuance of approximately 450 bitcoins per day. This observation was also highlighted by Yassine Elmandjra, an analyst at Ark Investment Management, in the company’s weekly Ark Disrupt newsletter.
Bitcoin’s Issuance Rate and Gold
Elmandjra stated that Bitcoin’s supply growth has now slipped below gold’s long-term supply growth. He estimated gold’s annual issuance rate to be lower than the figure cited in the Glassnode report, but still significantly higher than the annual Bitcoin supply growth post-halving.
He noted, “Last Friday, growth in the supply of Bitcoin halved for the fourth time in history, dropping from around 1.8% at an annual rate to around 0.9%. As a result, Bitcoin’s supply growth slipped below that of gold, estimated to be around 1.7% in 2023, on a long-term basis.”
However, Glassnode analysts also clarified that the effect of Bitcoin halving events on the available traded BTC supply may be diminishing over time. This is not only due to the reduction in mined coins but also because the size of the asset and its surrounding ecosystem is growing.
In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin increased by 0.14% and was trading at $66,378 at 7:09 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, Ethereum posted a more impressive 2% rise to $3,268 in the same period.
The total cryptocurrency market cap gained 1% in the last 24 hours, currently standing at $2.59 trillion. The GM 30 Index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, increased by 0.97% to 138.48 in the past 24 hours.