What Happened To Ethereum After The Bitcoin Halving Four Years Ago?

Benzinga takes a look at how Ethereum ETH/USD, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, has performed following the last Bitcoin Halving.

What Happened: The last Bitcoin halving occurred four years ago on May 11, 2020, when Bitcoin BTC/USD was trading at around $9,700, and Ethereum was priced at around $186. Since then, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen impressive price surges of 621% and 1,786%, respectively.

In the two months following the Halving event, Ethereum prices surged, while Bitcoin prices dropped. While Ethereum continued its surge until August 2020, Bitcoin prices rose (+27%) only from July 2020 to August 2020. From May 2020 to August 2020, Ethereum appreciated by 110%.

Fast forward to one year after the last Bitcoin Halving, Ethereum reached its then all-time high of $3,911 in May 2021, coinciding with Bitcoin's then-all-time high of $63,576 in April 2021. By September 2021, Ethereum had surpassed its previous all-time high level, and its current all-time high is at $4,635 from November 2021.

One month after the Halving, Ethereum overtook Bitcoin to become the most used blockchain by settlement value.

Also Read: Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Labels Ethereum A ‘Junk Coin,’ Says Bitcoin Is ‘King Over Gold’

Why It Matters: Ethereum was founded by eight members including Vitalik Buterin, who is still involved in the Ethereum foundation. Two other members — Charles Hoskinson and Gavin Wood — started rival blockchains, Cardano and Polkadot.

The original Ethereum idea was conceived by 19-year-old Buterin in November 2013, and his whitepaper included the limitations that Bitcoin faces. Ethereum boasts being the largest, blockchain optimized for programmability or digital contracts.

While the most recent Dencun upgrade brought significant changes to the network, Ethereum is currently awaiting the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF. The deadline by the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is May 23, 2024. However, an approval seems doubtful.

What's Next: The influence of Ethereum and Bitcoin as institutional asset classes are topics expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.

Read Next: Veteran Trader Rates Bitcoin, Ethereum And Solana: This Is His ‘Golden Child’

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