Bitcoin's issuance rate drops below gold's after recent halving: Glassnode

Bitcoin BTC +0.73% ’s fourth halving event may have resulted in the digital asset decisively surpassing gold in terms of issuance scarcity, according to Glassnode analysts.

"The fourth halving marks a significant milestone in the comparison of bitcoin to Gold, as for the first time in history, bitcoin’s steady-state issuance rate (0.83%) becomes lower than Gold ( around 2.3%), marking a historic handover in the title of scarcest asset," Glassnode analysts said.

Last Saturday’s halving event saw the block subsidy decline from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block, or an issuance of about 450 bitcoin per day, the report stated .

This observation was also noted by Ark Investment Management analyst Yassine Elmandjra, who reported in this week’s Ark Disrupt newsletter that “after the halving, bitcoin’s issuance rate has slipped below gold’s long-term supply growth.”

Elmandjra puts gold’s annual issuance rate lower than that cited in the Glassnode report but still significantly higher than the post-halving annual bitcoin supply growth from block rewards.

"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," Elamdjra said.

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Bitcoin versus Gold issuance rate. Image: Glassnode.

However, Glassnode analysts clarified that the impact bitcoin halving events have on the available traded BTC supply may be diminishing across cycles, not only due to the reduction in mined coins but also because the size of the asset and ecosystem around it is expanding.

Bitcoin increased 0.14% in the past 24 hours and was trading at $66,378 at 7:09 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page . Data from The Block shows ether posting a more impressive 2% rise to $3,268 in the same period.

The total cryptocurrency market cap gained 1% in the last 24 hours, and is currently standing at $2.59 trillion. The GM 30 Index , representing a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, increased by 0.97% to 138.48 in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin has held above the $66,000 mark over the past 24 hours. Image: The Block.

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