Dissecting the Bitcoin halving — Interview with Henry Brade, CEO of Prasos Oy

Bitcoin halving has come and gone; what’s left is a smaller reward for mining bitcoins and the promise of a stronger cryptocurrency. We talked to Henry Brade, the CEO of Prasos Oy, a Finnish Bitcoin startup founded in 2012, about the event, the current state of Bitcoin and what’s next for all the people directly involved in this matter.

Bitcoin has just experienced its second halving and, just like the first time, it did not have a substantial effect on the cryptocurrency’s price. Still, some movement is bound to happen —some people directly involved in this matter claim.

We asked Henry Brade, the CEO of Finnish Bitcoin startup Prasos Oy, about the impact of the Bitcoin halving on his business and the general investor sentiment.

The aftermath of Bitcoin halving

JAXenter: Bitcoin halving has come and gone —nothing special happened. Are you satisfied with the outcome? Did you have other expectations?

Henry Brade: This is exactly what I expected to happen and what all bitcoin investors want to hear. The Bitcoin system remains stable even though there was a major supply shock. For miners the price increase of the last nine months has effectively countered most of the halving’s negative effects so I did not expect anything significant to happen. As for the Bitcoin price, I expect it to rise post-halving.

JAXenter: Do you think Bitcoin miners and business owners should breathe easy now?

Henry Brade: Miners need to remain competitive against other miners and I don’t think halving changes that in any significant way. As for Bitcoin investors, there is always the possibility of a short-term price decrease. However, I’m confident that in the mid-term the price will increase. The decreased supply will help Bitcoin rise since the miners generate less bitcoins which means there are less bitcoins for them to sell.

As for the Bitcoin price, I expect it to rise post-halving.

JAXenter: Do you think volatility is coming our way now that the Bitcoin halving has happened?

Henry Brade: Volatility has already increased significantly pre-halving. Trading volumes are also increasing and in June we already saw fairly high volumes. However, I think this is only the beginning. We will be seeing even higher volumes later this year and more volatility. This will be a very exciting year for Bitcoin.

JAXenter: Has the Bitcoin halving influenced your business in any way?

Henry Brade: Our business is centered around exchanging and storing bitcoins and our exchange services are clearly affected by the halving. We are seeing increasing trading volumes and in fact our services did their all-time high trading volumes in June. Our previous record dates back to December 2013 when the Bitcoin price reached its all-time peak. So I would say that the effect is clearly positive but it is not all just about the halving; in fact, the general investor sentiment in the Bitcoin market is showing a positive trend.

JAXenter: What does the Bitcoin halving mean for you as a business owner in this industry?

Henry Brade: The period following the first halving of late 2012 was incredible. The year 2013 is still to some extent Bitcoin’s biggest year to date. I’m very excited to see what happens this time. My feeling is that we will top everything that has happened in the past.

The decreased supply will help Bitcoin rise since the miners generate less bitcoins which means there are less bitcoins for them to sell.

JAXenter: Is the Bitcoin halving a necessary evil?

Henry Brade: The Bitcoin halving is a testament to the greatness of cryptocurrency. In Bitcoin there is no central entity that decides how much money is created, instead there are rules in the protocol that simply happen. The rules are completely transparent and predictable, which is good. This is something that doesn’t happen to regular currencies.

In fact, events like the Bitcoin halving have great symbolic meaning since that is what Bitcoin is truly about. Not just cool payments technology but revolutionary currency. It is a real currency and from my point of view it is the world’s first universal currency.

Thank you very much!