The Bitcoin blockchain completed its third halving on May 11, 2020, at about 3:21 pm EST.

Bitcoin miners will now get 6.25 BTC per block, down from 12.50 BTC per block before halving. The halving happened earlier than expected, with most expectations for it to take place on May 12, 2020.

Post-halving, Bitcoin has fluctuated between $8,450 and $8,950 and is currently trading at $8,913.

Miners switching off?

The reduced reward may have made many mining operations unviable. According to Bitcoin.com, which quoted Alejandro De La Torre, VP at mining pool Poolin, miners who make up between 15% to 30% of the BTC network hashrate may imminently close shop as profit margins are drastically reduced.

However, the Bitcoin network is growing and in fine fettle

Though some miners may be shutting down, overall, the network is fundamentally in good shape. Rafael Schultze-Kraft – the co-founder of blockchain research platform Glassnode says: “The number of Bitcoin addresses is steadily increasing and currently at ATH. It recently crossed the milestone of 30 million addresses. That’s an increase of +234% since the last halving four years ago.”

Further, the growth rate of the network, as measured by the daily additions of addresses, is over 68% higher when compared to the previous halving.

In another positive metric, the number of whales is growing fast. “Both the number of Bitcoin addresses and entities holding ≥ 1,000 BTC are well on their way to reach new ATHs in 2020.”

JP Morgan is now counting the Coinbase and Gemini exchanges as banking clients

Crowdfund Insider reports that in a huge plus for the crypto industry, JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) has accepted Coinbase and Gemini, two of the largest digital exchanges in the U.S., as banking customers.

The bank will offer wire transfers, deposits, and withdrawals.

This is an indication that the two exchanges had probably passed JPM’s rigorous vetting process, including of their KYC and AML systems.

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