Every 210,000 blocks, Bitcoin's code automatically cuts the block reward in half. This event is called the halving.

The block reward is how new bitcoins enter circulation. Miners compete to add new blocks to the blockchain, and the winner receives a reward in bitcoin. When the halving happens, that reward drops by 50%.

Bitcoin was designed with a hard cap of 21 million coins. The halving enforces a predictable, diminishing issuance schedule. By cutting new supply in half every four years, Bitcoin becomes increasingly scarce over time.

Compare this to gold: as more gold is mined, the supply grows at an uncertain rate. Bitcoin's scarcity is mathematically guaranteed.

Each halving cuts the rate at which new bitcoin enters circulation. Historically, reduced supply combined with steady or growing demand has preceded significant price appreciation in the 12-18 months following each halving.

This is not a guarantee. Markets are complex. But the halving is one of the few economic events in any asset class that is fully predictable and scheduled years in advance.

Bitcoin targets one block every 10 minutes. At that rate, 210,000 blocks takes approximately 4 years. The exact date shifts slightly because the network adjusts mining difficulty, which affects how fast blocks come in.

The countdown on this page uses live block height data from mempool.space. Time remaining is calculated by multiplying blocks remaining by 10 minutes per block.