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Bitcoin\u2019s price\u2014above $63,000 on Thursday<\/a>\u2014has reached heights not seen in two years, but the coin\u2019s upcoming halving event could push prices down to $42,000, according to analysts at JPMorgan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bitcoin production cost has empirically acted as a lower bound for bitcoin prices,\u201d the analysts wrote in a report released Wednesday, estimating that post-halving production costs could double to about $53,000. This could cause a 20% decline in the Bitcoin network\u2019s hashrate, meaning fewer miners would be competing to produce Bitcoins simultaneously.<\/p>\n \u201cThis $42,000 estimate is also the level we envisage bitcoin prices drifting towards once bitcoin-halving-induced euphoria subsides after April,\u201d the analysts wrote.<\/p>\n At the halving, expected on or around April 19, the rewards miners earn per block will fall from 6.25 to 3.125 Bitcoins, in order to slow the rate at which new coins are minted. While diminishing supply has historically caused prices to soar, increasing production costs can also affect the price of Bitcoin as fewer miners are able to stay profitable.<\/p>\n \u201cThere could also be some horizontal integration via mergers and acquisitions among bitcoin miners across regions to take advantage of synergies in their businesses,\u201d the JPMorgan analysts concluded, noting that publicly traded miners\u2019 share of the hashrate is likely to increase.<\/p>\n Bitcoin has been edging closer to its all-time high of about $69,000, a move that\u2019s exhausted crypto providers like Coinbase<\/a>, which suffered outages as app and site traffic surged. But JPMorgan\u2019s bearish prediction could dent optimism in the longevity of this upward trajectory<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWe expect consolidation,\u201d Fred Thiel, CEO of the world\u2019s largest publicly traded mine, Marathon Digital Holdings, told Fortune<\/em>. About 10% to 25% of miners\u2014likely smaller players\u2014will come offline at some point, he adds. However, Thiel anticipates some will return once costs are optimized.\u00a0<\/p>\n Exactly how damaging the increased production costs will be on miners is also inextricably linked to Bitcoin\u2019s price, but \u201ceven if the reward price drops 50%, if Bitcoin\u2019s price goes to $100,000, they\u2019re still going to be making the same amount of money after a couple of months past the halving,\u201d said Alessandro Cecere, head of marketing at mining pool Luxor.<\/p>\n Indeed, following the three previous halvings in 2008, 2012, and 2016, the hashrate dipped temporarily before rebounding.<\/p>\n\n