As the crypto market ended March positively, the industry gears up for an eventful April, marked by crucial developments and milestones that could significantly impact the digital asset landscape.
Crypto Halvings And Regulatory Deadlines
The month starts with the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) halving event scheduled for April 2nd. Similar to Bitcoin (BTC), BCH undergoes a halving approximately every four years, which reduces mining profits for BCH miners.
On April 10, the US is scheduled to announce March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a vital indicator that measures the average price change paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services.
The Federal Reserve closely monitors the CPI as it influences inflation and, consequently, the central bank’s decisions regarding interest rates. Any changes in interest rates can ripple effect on the overall crypto market performance.
April 19 marks the deadline for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and US crypto exchange Coinbase to reach an agreement in their ongoing legal battle.
As reported by Bitcoinist, the court previously ruled in favor of the SEC, supporting claims that Coinbase operated as an exchange, broker, and clearing agency. However, the court also sided with Coinbase on certain claims regarding its wallet.
Bitcoin Halving Approaches
One of the most highly anticipated events in the crypto world, the Bitcoin block reward halving, is scheduled for April 25. Occurring approximately every four years, this event reduces the mining reward for contributors securing the network by 50%. As a result, the rate at which new BTC are introduced into circulation slows down.
Coinciding with the Bitcoin halving on April 25, the Runes protocol is expected to launch around April 25. Runes is a Bitcoin-native digital commodities protocol that introduces a novel fungible token system on the Bitcoin network.
The sentencing hearing of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former CEO of Binance, is expected to occur on April 30. CZ pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. CZ agreed to step down as CEO and pay a $50 million fine as part of the plea agreement. Binance also agreed to pay substantial fines of more than $4.3 billion and restitution.
Lastly, EigenLayer’s mainnet launch is expected at the end of April. Mainnet is when a blockchain protocol is fully developed and deployed, allowing cryptocurrency transactions to be broadcasted, verified, and recorded on a distributed ledger technology (blockchain).
April will be an eventful month for the crypto industry, with several key events that could have significant implications. From Halving to regulatory decisions to protocol launches, these events will most likely have the potential to shape the future of the digital asset landscape.
The largest cryptocurrency in the market, BTC, trades at $68,690, marking a 2.6% price decrease over the past 24 hours and 2.4% in the past seven days.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com