Bitcoin has completed its fourth halving and the block reward is now 3.125 BTC.

It was the moment most Bitcoin friends had been waiting for. At 8:10 PM ET on Friday in New York, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced its fourth halving at a block height of 840,000. Block reward decreased from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

Data from Blockchain.com shows that despite block rewards being cut in half, miners on block 840,000 raked in huge transaction fees. The fee is over 37 BTC, or over $2.4 million.

On this historic day, the Bitcoin price remained relatively stable above $63,000. The price reached $64,120 at the time of the halving and then dropped slightly shortly thereafter.

As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading around $63,700, up about 6% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency market capitalization is now over $2.4 trillion, up 4% in the last 24 hours.

Most altcoins have recovered from previous losses and are currently trading in positive territory. Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) are both up 5.5% in the last 24 hours. Solana (SOL) is a star stock that has surged 10% and is currently trading around $142.

Toncoin (TON) is the only cryptocurrency currently experiencing a correction. TON is currently trading at around $6, down about 3% in one day.

What comes next after dividing it in half?

Bitcoin has experienced four halvings since its launch in 2009. These halvings halve block rewards for miners, which are programmed to occur approximately every four years.

The next halving is estimated to occur around April 2028. This process will continue until all 21 million Bitcoins have been mined, which is expected to occur around 2140. After that, miners will rely solely on transaction fees for compensation.

Historically, prices rise after halvings. This may be because the supply of new Bitcoins is decreasing, creating scarcity and potentially increasing demand.

In the previous three halvings, Bitcoin reached its peak several months after the halving.

However, with the introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US and increasing institutional adoption, Bitcoin has already hit a new all-time high of $73,700 in March. For some analysts, these developments may have already taken into account the expected price increases following the halving, which suggests a decline in prices after the halving.

However, the future is unpredictable, especially considering current geopolitical tensions that may impact high-risk investments such as cryptocurrencies.