What is the Bitcoin halving?

How are new bitcoins created?

New bitcoins are created through MiningMiningThe process in which computers compete to solve a puzzle so they can add the next block to the blockchain and earn new bitcoin and fees.. Miners compete to add the next BlockBlockA batch of transactions added to a blockchain in one go, together with a reference to the block before it. to the BlockchainBlockchainA public ledger where transactions are grouped into blocks, each linked to the one before, so past records can't be altered without it showing.. The winner is rewarded with new bitcoin, plus the network feesNetwork feeA fee paid to a crypto network, not to a bank or company, for including your transaction in a block. in that block. The newly created bitcoin is called the block rewardBlock rewardWhat a miner receives for adding a block to the chain: newly created bitcoin plus the network fees in the block..

A new block is found about every ten minutes, or around 144 blocks a day. At the reward in place since April 2024, 3.125 bitcoin per block, that means about 450 new bitcoin a day. Read more in What is Bitcoin mining?

What happens at a halving?

Every 210,000 blocks, the block reward is cut in half. The rule is written into Bitcoin's software, so the halving happens automatically. Nobody has to decide anything, and nobody can postpone it.

The halving is tied to the number of blocks, not to a date. That is why the exact day can only be estimated in advance.

After a halving, miners receive half as many new bitcoins for the same work. Network fees, however, are not affected.

Why does the halving exist?

Satoshi NakamotoSatoshi NakamotoThe pseudonym of Bitcoin's creator, who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, launched the network in 2009 and disappeared soon after. designed Bitcoin with a fixed, limited supply set in advance. The 2008 WhitepaperWhitepaperA document in which the creators of a cryptocurrency or project describe how it works, what it is for and which rules apply to it. compares the creation of new bitcoin to gold mining, where new gold gradually enters circulation. The software itself then set the issuance to halve at regular intervals.

The halving serves three purposes:

• Limited supply. Because the reward keeps halving, the total approaches 21 million but never exceeds it. That is Bitcoin's maximum supplyMaximum supplyThe largest number of units of a cryptocurrency that can ever exist under its rules, such as 21 million for bitcoin..
• Predictability. Anyone can know in advance how many bitcoins will exist and when. Nobody can decide to increase issuance.
• An early incentive. A high reward in the early years encouraged people to take part and secure the network when few were using it.

Traditional currencies work differently. Central banks steer monetary policy according to circumstances. The Central Bank of Iceland, for example, aims to keep InflationInflationA general rise in prices over time, which means each króna buys less than before. at around 2.5% a year on average. Bitcoin's issuance, by contrast, is fixed and falls over time.

The history of the halving

The first block was created on 3 January 2009. For almost four years, miners received 50 bitcoin per block. Since then the reward has been halved four times:

In March 2026, the number of bitcoins issued passed 20 million. Less than one million remains, and it will be created over more than a hundred years. Bitcoin's supply now grows by less than 1% a year, and after the next halving the growth will be cut in half again.

When is the next halving?

The next halving will happen at block 1,050,000. At ten minutes per block, it can be expected in spring 2028. The exact date depends on how quickly blocks are found until then. The reward will then fall to 1.5625 bitcoin per block.

Halvings continue until the reward becomes smaller than the smallest unit of bitcoin, one Satoshi (sats)Satoshi (sats)The smallest unit of bitcoin: one satoshi is one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin, or 0.00000001 BTC.. That will happen around the year 2140. After that, miners will earn only fees.

What does the halving mean for the price?

This is the question most people ask. The honest answer is that nobody knows.

The argument you often hear is simple. If fewer new bitcoins come onto the market each day, and demand stays the same, the price should rise. But that rests on an assumption nobody can guarantee: that demand holds up or grows.

History shows both big rises and big falls:

• After each of the first three halvings, the price rose strongly over the following 12 to 18 months. It then fell by 75 to 85% from the peak.
• After the 2024 halving, the picture was different. The price reached a new record in March 2024, before the halving happened. The next peak came in October 2025, at about twice the price at the time of the halving. By mid-2026 the price had fallen by more than half.

Be careful about reading too much into this:

• The sample is tiny. There have only been four halvings. Four examples don't prove a rule.
• A lot else happened at the same time. Interest rates, the economy and new regulation have also had a big effect. In January 2024, for example, bitcoin exchange-traded fundsExchange-traded fund (ETF)A fund traded on a stock exchange like an ordinary share, which can for example track the price of bitcoin. were approved in the United States.
• Everyone knows the halving is coming. The date is known long in advance, so expectations may already be reflected in the price.
• The effect is shrinking. New issuance is now small compared with all the bitcoin that already exists. Each halving changes the supply proportionally less than the one before.

A halving on its own says nothing about whether to buy or sell. The price of bitcoin can rise and fall sharply regardless of the halving. Read more about why crypto prices are so volatile.

What does the halving mean for miners?

For miners, a halving is a big change. Their income from new bitcoin is cut in half overnight, but the electricity bill stays the same. Those with the least efficient machines or the most expensive power may have to stop.

If many miners stop, the HashrateHashrateThe total number of guesses a network's mining computers make each second, and a measure of how well the network is protected from attack. drops and the network makes the puzzle easier at the next adjustment. The system adapts on its own.

In the long run, miners will have to rely more and more on fees. In October 2026, fees made up less than 1% of what miners earned from blocks. Whether fees will pay for the network's security once the reward has become small is one of the big open questions about Bitcoin's future.

Closing thoughts

The halving is a built-in rule that cuts miners' reward in half roughly every four years. It makes Bitcoin's supply limited and predictable, and the last bitcoin will be created around the year 2140.

The halving is often linked to price rises, but the history is short and the picture is more complicated than that. Don't let promises of a post-halving rally drive your decisions.