A quadrennial event that slows the rate of growth in bitcoin supply, known as the reward halving, is anticipated to occur around April 19-20, according to a research report from Wall Street titan JPMorgan (JPM) released on Wednesday.

The bank’s analysis suggests potential downside risks for the leading cryptocurrency, especially considering overbought market conditions observed in the open interest of bitcoin futures.

Despite hovering around $61,200, the current bitcoin price remains above JPMorgan’s valuation compared to gold, which stands at $45,000 when adjusted for volatility, as well as the bank’s estimated production cost of $42,000 post-halving.

Historically, this production cost has served as a crucial lower boundary for BTC prices.

The report also highlights subdued venture-capital funding in the crypto market, despite its recent resurgence.

However, the most significant impact of the halving is expected to be felt by mining companies.

As unprofitable miners exit the network, a substantial decrease in hashrate is anticipated, leading to consolidation among mining firms, with publicly-listed entities likely to gain a larger market share.

Following the halving, some mining companies may seek to diversify operations into regions with lower energy costs, such as Latin America or Africa, to repurpose inefficient mining rigs and extract salvage value from them, preventing idle resources, as outlined by analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.