New Bitcoins are issued by the Bitcoin network every 10 minutes. In the first four years of Bitcoin’s existence, the number of new Bitcoins issued every 10 minutes was 50. Every four years, this number is halved. The day when the amount is halved is called the “halving”.
What is the significance of the premium halving?
The halving reduces the number of new Bitcoins generated per block. This means that the supply of new Bitcoins is lower.
In normal markets, a lower supply with no change in demand usually leads to higher prices. Since halving reduces the supply of new Bitcoins and demand usually remains constant, halving usually precedes some of the largest Bitcoin runs.
Bitcoin halving plan
Bitcoin halving is scheduled by block amount, not by date.
The halving will occur every 210,000 blocks. 2020 halving will occur at block 630,000. The 2024 halving will occur at block 840,000.
What happens to the miners during the halvings?
Many always speculate that miners will cease operations after the halving. The reality is that most miners are very smart and price in the halving so they don’t end up shutting down miners.
When is the next bitcoin halving after the 2020 halving?
The 2024 halving will likely occur between March and June 2024.
History of Bitcoin Halvings
This section takes a look at the last two halvings.
Halving 2012
The 2012 block bisection was the first bisection. It was generated by SlushPool, by someone using a Radeon HD 5800 miner.
- New BTC per block before: 50 BTC per block.
- New BTC per block after: 25 BTC per block
- Price on bisection day: $12.35
- Price 150 days later: $127.00
Halving 2016
The 2016 halving was the second ever.
- New BTC per block before: 25 BTC per block
- New BTC per block after: 12.5 BTC per block
- Price on the halving day: $650.63
- Price 150 days later: $758.81
Current bitcoin block subsidy
The current bitcoin block subsidy is 12.5 bitcoins per block. When block 630,000 is reached in 2020, the subsidy will drop to 6.25 bitcoins (BTC) per block.
Bitcoin halving participants
Thousands of Bitcoiners around the world celebrated the 2016 halving, with parties in countless major cities including Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Montreal, New York, London, Dublin and dozens of others.
When will all 21 million Bitcoins be generated?
All 21 million Bitcoins (BTC) will be generated by 2140. But more than 98% will be mined by 2030.
Is there a countdown for the Litecoin block premium bisection?
Yes, check this page. Litecoin is currently expected to reach halving a year before Bitcoin, around August 2019. Litecoin’s per-block premium will drop from 25 LTC per block to 12.5 LTC per block. Litecoin’s block premium halves every 840,000 blocks.
Is there a countdown for the Ethereum block premium halving?
Ethereum’s block premium does not halve like Bitcoin’s, so there is no countdown.
What is the bitcoin clock?
Bitcoin watch has been around since 2011. In 2018, the owner let the domain expire. We redesigned the website and brought it back to its original vision.
Is the halving necessary?
The halving is necessary. This is how the bitcoin supply is controlled. After the block subsidy expires, miners will be paid transaction fees to secure the network.
Why our estimates are the most accurate
Most of the other bisection date estimates use 10-minute blocks to calculate the estimated bisection date.
However, blocks have actually been obtained at intervals of less than 10 minutes for almost the entire history of Bitcoin.
Our calculator uses data from Bitcoinity to determine the average block time over the last 6 months. This block time (currently 9.69166666667 minutes between blocks) is then used to estimate the bisection date.
While most other estimates predict the bisection to occur in late May, it is more likely that the bisection will occur in early May.