Bitcoin (BTC)’s historical price trajectory highlights a clear pattern. Assets have consistently halved and then rose to a new high, but profits have declined.
In fact, a new study reveals that “since the second half, the extent of the price rise after discharge has been compressed over time.”
Returns are shrinking faster
Halving, which slows down the cycle of new Bitcoin, has reduced block rewards by 87.5% since 2012. It ranges from 25BTC to the current 3.125BTC. This has fueled the narrative of rarity that has long supported upward price momentum. Over this period, Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed over 9,110 times, reaching $109,000 on September 1, 2025. A month later, crypto assets rose above $120,000.
Nevertheless, Coingecko said the magnitude of the return after the water was reduced. The second half cycle in 2017 brought about a 29x peak gain, with the 2021 cycle dropping to 6.7x, with a relatively modest 93.1% increase in the latest run in 2025.
Interestingly, when Bitcoin posted its $73,400 record in March 2024, the cycle changed its rhythm. Meanwhile, market activity exploded, as revealed daily trading volumes, which increased from about $20 million in 2013 to about $30 billion in 2025.
This does not prevent publicly listed companies from increasingly adopting Bitcoin as a financial asset. As of October 3, 1,040,061 BTC was held by nearly 200 publicly traded companies, which is almost 5% of the total supply of BTC. The strategy is leading at 640,031 BTC. According to data compiled by Bitcoin Treasuries, this represents 63.2% of Bitcoin held by all companies, adding an additional 4,048 BTC on September 2nd.
Several new companies are making a big move towards Bitcoin. Supported by Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald and SoftBank, Twenty One has purchased 43,514 BTC since May. He is currently the third largest company holder. Meanwhile, US-based healthcare company KindlyMD has expanded its holdings through a merger with Nakamoto BTC Holdings, adding 5,765 BTC. It also announced plans to raise $5 billion for the Treasury’s growth.
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Internationally, organizations such as Japan’s Metaplanet and the European Ministry of Finance BV have built up a considerable amount of Bitcoin Treasury, with the Ministry of Finance BV raising $147 million to acquire more than 1,000 BTC.
Bitcoin backbone is strengthened
While institutional holdings have risen, the network itself has seen a significant expansion of computing power. The mining hashrate of the Bitcoin network is on a stable upward orbit as participation from both individual miners and institutional players continues to grow. Over the past year alone, hashrates have skyrocketed 88% from 670 million Th/s to 1.266 Zh/s.
Under the Trump administration, the US mining ecosystem expanded, with some Chinese mining hardware manufacturers, including Bitmaine, Canaan and Microto, relocating to the US, spurring tariff and regulatory pressures.
Meanwhile, domestic companies such as Hive, Hut 8, Marathon and Cleanspark are increasingly prioritizing alternative energy sources for new facilities. In addition to momentum, Eric Trump recently co-founded American Bitcoin Corp, which debuted on the Nasdaq.
