Are you interested in bitcoin? Are you considering investing in cryptocurrencies? Or do you already have bitcoins in your wallet and want to cash them out? In this article you will learn how to check the exchange rate of cryptocurrencies, as well as what affects the price of BTC.

Cryptocurrency exchange rates – where to check?

You can check current cryptocurrency price in many places. The best source will be specialized portals dedicated exclusively to quotations of virtual currencies. The most popular of these are CoinMarketCap and Coin Gecko. services that report the rates of nearly 10,000 tokens in real time. They also offer convenient calculators to instantly convert crypto units to values in fiat currencies and vice versa. The aforementioned sites provide data on trading volume, historical price charts and market capitalization rankings.

In addition, both services are available in the form of mobile apps that display current rates of the cryptocurrencies via widgets on your smartphone’s display, making it easy to keep your hand on the pulse. Crypto token listings are also taken into account by some traditional exchange trading news portals, such as TradingView.

You can also check the current rate of cryptocurrencies on Google search. Just enter the name of the cryptocurrency or its abbreviation (for Bitcoin it is BTC) and add “price” or “price”.

When observing cryptocurrency rates on the Internet, remember that they refer to the averaged market value. In other words, the Bitcoin price we see on portals like Coin Gecko is only a base price that will not be perfectly reflected when buying and selling cryptocurrencies on an exchange or at a stationary exchange office.

In fact, if you want to sell Bitcoin, you have to expect its rate to be lower than the base rate, while it will be higher if you buy. Of course, we are not dealing with any fraud here, the differences in real rates on exchanges and exchange offices relative to the average rate are a naturally occurring phenomenon in the trading of all assets, not excluding fiat currencies or precious metals. In this way, companies providing asset trading services reap their profits – differences in rates are nothing more than commissions for executing transactions.

It is worth noting here that the cryptocurrency market is relatively young, so commissions can often be higher than in other industries. That’s why it’s worth checking the cryptocurrency exchange rate with the broker or platform whose services you intend to use. Our cryptocurrency exchange Warsaw presents the current exchange rate on the homepage. This way you know exactly what the buying and selling price is at any given time. Also check out our mobile cryptocurrency exchange.

And if you have digital currencies and want to keep them in a safe place, cryptocurrency hardware wallets are worth considering.

What influences the current rate of cryptocurrencies? What does the price of Bitcoin depend on?

Current cryptocurrency prices are affected by a number of factors, just like stock prices on traditional exchanges. It should be noted that cryptocurrencies are still a relatively new phenomenon, not as well understood and widespread as standard financial assets, which makes them more susceptible to price fluctuations. The value of cryptocurrencies is formed primarily based on the law of supply and demand. Since digital money does not exist in complete isolation from traditional financial markets, the laws governing them have a significant impact on the demand for and quotations of cryptocurrencies. Exchange mechanisms can influence the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in many ways. Here are some examples:

• Investment demand – as more and more investors and institutions become interested in cryptocurrencies, in general the demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies increases, which automatically results in an increase in their prices. In contrast, when investors lose interest in cryptocurrencies or begin to doubt their potential and withdraw capital, the market situation leads to a decline in demand and a drop in the crypto price.
• Market Sentiment – Investor sentiment, shaped by, among other things, by the media, political events and public opinion have a major impact on Bitcoin’s price. Optimistic news in the media space helps boost demand and raises the price, while negative news may (or may not) cause a drop in value.
• Macroeconomic situation – factors such as the level of economic growth, state monetary policy, the magnitude of inflation and the level of interest rates to a considerable extent affect the condition of Bitcoin. For example, if economic conditions in a country are unstable, investors, along with the (more informed) part of society, tend to gravitate toward alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies in search of a “safe haven” for times of crisis, which cause an increase in the value of BTC and other tokens against the local fiat currency.
• Regulatory transparency – Legal regulations on trading cryptocurrencies also influence their rate. If legal and legislative bodies provide sufficiently clear guidance on the legal status of cryptocurrencies and their taxation, this leads to increased investor confidence and drives demand. In turn, with uncertain or even hostile government attitudes toward cryptocurrencies, we can expect demand and the price of digital assets to fall.
• Scale and recognition – large projects such as Bitcoin and Ether are considered more stable and forward-looking than younger and “more modest” altcoins. Investing in lesser-known cryptocurrencies always involves more risk, in addition to the fact that they are unlikely to approach the price ceiling of BTC or ETH (although, on the other hand, they have the potential for a much higher return on investment than the highest valued tokens).
• “Black swans” – Unexpected events that have a significant impact on markets. In the case of cryptocurrencies, we can mention the bankruptcy of the Terra project behind the Luna cryptocurrency (May 2022) and the collapse of the powerful FTX exchange in November 2022.

In addition, in the long term there are many factors that shape the price of cryptocurrencies. Of utmost importance is their potential as a means of trading and storing value, as well as their level of adoption and acceptance by economic agents and average consumers. In other words, the more popular it becomes to pay with bitcoin, the more people are willing to own this cryptocurrency, so the price goes up.

Bitcoin’s cycle and the impact of halving

Observers of the cryptocurrency market point out that Bitcoin moves in cycles, where the value of the token increases, then decreases, to finally reach an equilibrium phase before starting further increases.

Looking at the historical chart, it is easy to see the aforementioned cyclicality. Its rhythm is set by the halving rule. Under this term is the mechanism that regulates the supply of Bitcoin. As part of the mining process based on the proof-of-work algorithm, miners receive rewards in the form of Bitcoin units. The number of units awarded for adding a new block to the blockchain network was strictly set, initially at 50 BTC. As a result of halving, mining rewards are consistently reduced by 50% every four years. This process is irreversible, making it a key part of Bitcoin’s deflationary strategy. The total supply of BTC has been capped at 21 million units in advance, while halving further puts off reaching the mining limit. Thus, it is designed to prevent the negative impact of inflation on the purchasing power of the cryptocurrency, and in addition, maintain a healthy “scarcity” of tokens on the market, increasing their value.

The halving of mining rewards leads to a reduction in the rate of creation of new coins, which in turn regulates the dynamics of supply and demand for Bitcoin. Let’s analyze the impact of the three halvings on the BTC exchange rate cycles so far:

1. First halving (2012): the block reward was reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. Bitcoin’s price gradually rose, leading the token to increase in value by half, from about $5 in early 2012 to about $12 on the day of the event. In the following months, Bitcoin’s value continued to rise, peaking above $1,000 in late 2013.
2. Second halving (2016): the block reward dropped from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC. Prior to the event, Bitcoin’s price had gradually recovered from the correction and was settling around $650. After being increased by half, Bitcoin’s value continued to rise steadily, eventually leading to a major bull market in 2017, during which Bitcoin reached the $20,000 level.
3. Third halving (2020): The block reward has been reduced from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. Bitcoin’s price at the time was about $8,600. In the following months, Bitcoin experienced another significant bull run, with its price reaching a ceiling of $60,000 in early 2021.

The correlation between halving and bitcoin rate cycles is evident. As the rate of generation of new units decreases, the scarcity of bitcoin increases, leading to increased demand, which in turn leads to an increase in the price. It should be noted, however, that while historical trends suggest a fairly predictable relationship between halving and BTC price spikes, the world of cryptocurrencies is shaped by a number of very different factors. When planning movements in the Bitcoin market, we need to be tempted to make a meticulous analysis that takes into account a much larger number of variables.Predicting the most favorable rate based only on halving cycles is a simplification and may not be enough to make an accurate investment decision.