The four-year event

The Bitcoin halving: the halving that makes Bitcoin ever scarcer

Roughly every four years, the amount of new bitcoin created is cut in half. It has happened four times, and each time the market reacted. Here's how it works and what happened after.

Go to the chart The history of Bitcoin

How the halving works

The miners' reward

Those who keep the Bitcoin network running (the «miners») receive new bitcoin for every block added to the chain, about every 10 minutes. It's the only way new bitcoin is created.

The scheduled halving

Every 210,000 blocks — roughly four years — this reward automatically cuts in half. It's written into Bitcoin's code and no one can change it: not governments, not banks, not even the developers themselves.

Toward 21 million

Thanks to the halvings, the existing bitcoin supply will never exceed 21 million. The last satoshi will be created around the year 2140: from then on, miners will live solely on transaction fees.

Why the price moves

If demand stays the same but the supply of new bitcoin is cut in half, scarcity increases. Historically, in the 12-18 months after each halving the price has always reached a new high. But be careful: past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

The rallies after each halving

The chart compares bitcoin's price on the day of each halving with the peak reached in the following cycle. In all four cases, within 12-18 months the price hit a new record.

The orange bands mark the rise from the halving day to the peak of the following cycle.

Full historical bitcoin chart in US dollars provided by TradingView. Prices can change rapidly.

Price at the time of the halving Peak of the following cycle

Logarithmic scale, prices in US dollars, rounded values. Source: historical market data.

Warning: past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Each cycle has differed from the previous one, and the Bitcoin market remains highly volatile. This page is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice.

Every halving, one by one

1st halving

×95 to peak

Date: November 28, 2012
Block: 210,000
Reward: 50 → 25 BTC
Price at halving: ~$12
Cycle peak (late 2013): ~$1,150

2nd halving

×30 to peak

Date: July 9, 2016
Block: 420,000
Reward: 25 → 12.5 BTC
Price at halving: ~$650
Cycle peak (late 2017): ~$19,700

3rd halving

×8 to peak

Date: May 11, 2020
Block: 630,000
Reward: 12.5 → 6.25 BTC
Price at halving: ~$8,700
Cycle peak (late 2021): ~$69,000

4th halving

×1.7 to peak

Date: April 20, 2024
Block: 840,000
Reward: 6.25 → 3.125 BTC
Price at halving: ~$64,000
Cycle peak (early 2025): ~$109,000

The next halving is expected around April 2028, at block 1,050,000: the reward will drop to 1.5625 BTC per block.