5 cryptocurrencies to watch as the big Bitcoin 'halving' begins

Photo: Marco Bello (Reuters)

Bitcoin will go through its latest so-called “halving” event starting Friday. The halving will cut the current reward for mining new coins from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125. Halving is an integral part of the Bitcoin blockchain system, which creates a monetary system that controls inflation.

Previous Bitcoin halving events have sent Bitcoin prices higher. But given Bitcoin’s recent volatility, many experts say this time will be different — and that the cryptocurrency could even lose value after the halving.

Whatever impact Bitcoin’s halving has on Bitcoin itself, its performance will almost certainly impact other major cryptocurrencies.

Here are 5 cryptocurrencies to watch during Bitcoin halving.

Bitcoin Cash

Photo: Jose Cabezas (Reuters)

Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 after the Bitcoin “hard fork.” A hard fork is a phenomenon in the blockchain world that happens when the community makes major changes to the blockchain network and changes the rules.

A few years after Bitcoin’s birth, Bitcoin miners and developers were concerned about the top cryptocurrency’s future and its ability to scale effectively. As a result, Bitcoin was hard forked — resulting in Bitcoin Cash, which featured faster transaction speeds.

With its history tied to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash’s price often fluctuates with the top cryptocurrency. The upcoming halving event makes it a must-watch for crypto investors.

Bitcoin Cash was trading at $485 on Thursday, a 265% increase in the last year.

Ether

Illustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

Some say if Bitcoin is gold, then Ether is silver. The Ethereum blockchain network has features that Bitcoin’s blockchain network lacks, causing Ether’s status sometimes to surpass Bitcoin. The usability of the Ethereum blockchain network is popular because it hosts thousands of decentralized apps, or dApps.

Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain network and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, often fluctuates with Bitcoin. It is an important bellwether for the health of the crypto market.

Ether was trading at about $3,000, up 46% over the last year.

Solana

Illustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

If there’s a cryptocurrency rivaling Ether, it’s Solana. The Solana blockchain network hosts different decentralized apps, or dApps, much like the Ethereum blockchain network, but claims to be faster and cheaper than Ethereum.

The native Solana token has been among the top 10 cryptocurrencies for years and often jumps when the price of Bitcoin rises.

Solana was hovering around $140 on Thursday, up 462% in a year.

Litecoin

Illustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that was introduced after the creation of Bitcoin, and is considered one of the earliest digital currencies in existence. Charles “Charlie” Lee, a former Google engineer, created Litecoin in 2011 and called it a “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Litecoin has survived all the ups and downs of the crypto sphere and continues to rank among the top 20 cryptocurrencies.

Both Bitcoin and Litecoin share a crucial similarity as they use a Proof-of-Work (PoW) validation system. That means the process of mining or creating both cryptocurrencies and adding them to a public ledger or blockchain is the same. Due to its close proximity to Bitcoin, its fluctuations are often matched.

Litecoin was hovering around $80, up 20% over the last year.

Dogecoin

Illustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

When it comes to cryptocurrency market volatility and fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price, Dogecoin is an indispensable name. The top meme coin has received support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other celebrities for years.

Despite starting as a joke, Doge has maintained its position among the major cryptocurrencies for a long time.

Dogecoin was hovering around $0.15 on Thursday, a 58% increase from last year.

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