The Bitcoin halving is a scheduled event that cuts the reward miners receive for adding a new block by 50%, occurring every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every four years. It is hardcoded into Bitcoin's protocol and cannot be changed by any individual or group. The fourth halving on 20 April 2024 reduced the reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. The next is projected for around April 2028.
How the Bitcoin halving works
New bitcoin enters circulation only one way: as the reward paid to whoever adds a block.
At launch in January 2009, that reward was 50 BTC. Every 210,000 blocks since, it has halved. The mechanism is a few lines of code, and it runs automatically when the block count is reached. No vote, no announcement, no discretion.
The result is a supply schedule known in advance to the block. Anyone can calculate how many bitcoin will exist at any future date, which is the property that distinguishes it from every currency issued by a central bank.
Bitcoin halving dates: the full schedule
| Halving | Date | Block height | Reward after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | 3 January 2009 | 0 | 50 BTC |
| First | 28 November 2012 | 210,000 | 25 BTC |
| Second | 9 July 2016 | 420,000 | 12.5 BTC |
| Third | 11 May 2020 | 630,000 | 6.25 BTC |
| Fourth | 20 April 2024 | 840,000 | 3.125 BTC |
| Fifth (projected) | Around April 2028 | 1,050,000 | 1.5625 BTC |
Halvings continue until around 2140, when the reward rounds to zero. By roughly 2032, more than 99% of all bitcoin that will ever exist will already be in circulation.
Why halvings happen roughly every four years
Blocks target ten-minute intervals, and 210,000 blocks at ten minutes each is about 3.99 years.
Actual timing drifts because block production is probabilistic. When hashrate rises faster than difficulty adjusts, blocks arrive slightly faster and the halving comes early. The first four halvings landed between 3.5 and 4.1 years apart.
The date is therefore a projection until the block height is reached. The block height is exact.
What the halving changes: supply and miner revenue
Two things directly, and both matter.
Daily new supply halves. The April 2024 halving cut issuance from 900 BTC per day to 450. At the fifth, it drops to 225.
Miner revenue halves overnight while costs do not. Every halving forces the least efficient operations offline and compresses margins across the industry. CoinShares estimated up to 20% of miners were unprofitable in May 2026, two years after the last cut.
That second effect is why hashrate tends to fall temporarily after each halving before recovering as difficulty adjusts and prices settle.
Does the halving affect Bitcoin's price?
Three halvings preceded major advances. The pattern is real and the sample is four.
Two explanations compete. One says the halving causes it: new supply falls while demand continues, so price rises. The other says halvings happen to coincide with global liquidity cycles, and liquidity does the actual work.
Distinguishing between them requires more cycles than exist. Three observations of a pattern is not evidence of a mechanism, however satisfying the chart looks. Bitcoin's most recent record was $126,296 on 6 October 2025, eighteen months after the fourth halving, which fits the pattern and proves nothing about the fifth.
Nothing here constitutes a prediction, and anyone offering one on the basis of the halving alone is working from a very small dataset.
What happens when the block reward reaches zero
Miners will earn transaction fees alone.
Whether fees can fund enough security is genuinely debated. Optimists argue a valuable network generates fees high enough to attract sufficient hashpower. Skeptics argue fee revenue is volatile and a security budget dependent on congestion is fragile.
The transition is gradual rather than sudden. Each halving is one step along it, and fees have become a progressively larger share of miner income with each one.
What the halving does not do
- It does not change how many bitcoin you own. Only new issuance is affected.
- It does not guarantee a price move. Four data points is a pattern, not a law.
- It does not affect transaction speed or fees directly. Block times stay near ten minutes.
- It does not require any action from holders, exchanges, or wallets.
- It cannot be delayed or canceled. The code runs when the block height arrives.
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Frequently asked questions
When is the next Bitcoin halving?
Projected for around April 2028, at block 1,050,000. The reward will fall from 3.125 BTC to 1.5625 BTC. The date is an estimate; the block height is exact.
What happens to the Bitcoin price after a halving?
Three of four halvings preceded major advances, which is a pattern across a very small sample. Whether the halving causes it or coincides with liquidity cycles is unresolved, and nothing about past halvings predicts the next.
Why does Bitcoin have halvings?
To enforce a fixed 21 million supply on a predictable schedule. Cutting issuance every 210,000 blocks produces a total that converges on the cap around 2140.
How many Bitcoin halvings have there been?
Four: November 2012, July 2016, May 2020, and April 2024. The reward has fallen from 50 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Does the Bitcoin halving affect transaction fees?
Not directly. It reduces the block subsidy, which makes fees a larger share of miner income over time, but block times and fee levels are set by demand for block space rather than by the halving.
What happens when Bitcoin's block reward reaches zero?
Around 2140, miners will earn only transaction fees. Whether that funds sufficient network security is one of Bitcoin's genuinely open questions.
Do other cryptocurrencies have halvings?
Litecoin halves every 840,000 blocks, roughly every four years. Bitcoin Cash follows Bitcoin's schedule. Most Proof of Stake networks use declining issuance curves rather than discrete halvings.
Can the Bitcoin halving be changed?
Only by changing Bitcoin's consensus rules, which would require overwhelming agreement across miners, nodes, and users. No serious proposal to alter it has ever gained traction.
