Bitcoin’s (BTC) price history illustrates a recurring pattern where, following each halving event, the asset has reached new heights, although recent gains have become less significant.

Research indicates that the “degree of post-halving price increases has lessened since the second halving.”

Shrinking Returns

Halving events, which decrease the introduction of new Bitcoin to the market, have reduced block rewards by 87.5% since 2012, from 25 BTC to the current 3.125 BTC. This restriction has intensified the narrative of scarcity supporting price growth. Bitcoin’s value has surged over 9,110 times, peaking at $109,000 on September 1, 2025, and recently surpassed $120,000.

However, according to CoinGecko, the scale of returns experienced after halving has diminished. The second halving in 2017 resulted in peak gains of 29x, whereas the 2021 halving brought about only 6.7x returns, and the most recent cycle in 2025 has yielded a modest 93.1% increase.

Interestingly, the current cycle began to diverge when Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $73,400 in March 2024, ahead of the fourth halving, contradicting past expectations. Market activity has also expanded, with daily trading volumes rising dramatically from around $20 million in 2013 to nearly $30 billion in 2025.

This trend hasn’t dissuaded public companies from embracing Bitcoin as a treasury asset. As of October 3rd, nearly 200 publicly traded entities held 1,040,061 BTC, nearly 5% of the total supply. Strategy leads with 640,031 BTC, accounting for 63.2% of all corporate-held Bitcoin, having acquired an additional 4,048 BTC on September 2.

New entrants into the Bitcoin market are making significant purchases. Twenty One, endorsed by Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank, has amassed 43,514 BTC since May, becoming the third-largest corporate holder. Additionally, KindlyMD, a US healthcare firm, increased its acquisition through a merger with Nakamoto BTC Holdings, obtaining 5,765 BTC, while planning to raise $5 billion for treasury expansion.

Internationally, companies like Japan’s MetaPlanet and Europe’s Treasury BV are developing substantial Bitcoin treasuries, with Treasury BV securing $147 million to acquire over 1,000 BTC.

Strengthening Bitcoin’s Infrastructure

As institutional investments rise, the Bitcoin network is experiencing significant growth in its processing capabilities. The mining hash rate has climbed steadily as individual miners and institutional entities continue to join the network. Over the past year, the hash rate has increased by 88%, from 670 million TH/s to 1.266 ZH/s.

The expansion of the US mining ecosystem has been facilitated under the Trump administration, partly due to the relocation of Chinese mining hardware manufacturers like Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT to the US, driven by tariffs and regulatory challenges.

At the same time, domestic companies including HIVE, Hut 8, Marathon, and CleanSpark are increasingly focusing on sustainable energy sources for new operations. Eric Trump recently co-founded American Bitcoin Corp, which made its debut on Nasdaq.