Bitcoin Halving

What is a bitcoin halving?

A bitcoin halving (sometimes ‘halvening’) is an event where the reward for mining new blocks is halved, meaning miners receive 50% fewer bitcoins for verifying transactions. Bitcoin halvings are scheduled to occur once every 210,000 blocks – roughly every four years – until the maximum supply of 21 million bitcoins has been generated by the network.

Bitcoin halvings are important events for traders because they reduce the number of new bitcoins being generated by the network. This limits the supply of new coins, so prices could rise if demand remains strong.

While this has happened in the months before and after previous halvings – causing bitcoin’s price to appreciate rapidly – the circumstances surrounding each halving are different and demand for bitcoin can fluctuate wildly.

When is the next bitcoin halving?

The next bitcoin halving is expected to occur in April 2024, when the number of blocks hits 740,000. It will see the block reward fall from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins. The exact date of the halving is not yet known as the time taken to generate new blocks varies, with the network averaging one block every ten minutes.

Bitcoin halvings: key events

EventDateBlock numberBlock rewardTotal new bitcoins between eventsBitcoin launches3 January 20090 (genesis block)50 new BTC10,500,000 BTCFirst halving28 November 2012210,00025 new BTC5,250,000 BTCSecond halving9 July 2016420,00012.5 new BTC2,625,000 BTCThird halving11 May 2020630,0006.25 new BTC1,312,500 BTCFourth halvingExpected April 2024740,0003.125 new BTC656,250 BTCFifth halvingExpected 2028850,0001.5625 new BTC328,125 BTC
This list is not exhaustive. Bitcoin halvings will occur every 210,000 blocks until around 2140, when all 21 million coins will have been mined.