The 2024 Bitcoin halving occurred at block 840,000 on April 20, 2024. It reduced the block subsidy—the newly issued BTC paid to a miner for a valid block—from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. It was the fourth halving in Bitcoin’s programmed issuance schedule.
What Changed at Block 840,000
Bitcoin’s subsidy changes at fixed block-height intervals, not on a calendar date. Every 210,000 blocks, the subsidy is cut in half. Because Bitcoin targets an average block interval of about ten minutes, the interval has historically taken roughly four years, but the exact date depends on how quickly blocks are found.
The halving changed the subsidy component of a miner’s block reward. Miners can also receive transaction fees included in a block, so the total amount a miner earns does not automatically fall by exactly half at a halving. The protocol’s new-issuance rate did fall: fewer newly created bitcoins entered circulation per block after the event.
Why the Halving Matters
The schedule makes Bitcoin’s issuance increasingly small over time. It affects the flow of newly created BTC and the revenue mix available to miners, but it does not determine the market price. Price also reflects demand, liquidity, macroeconomic conditions, leverage, and other factors. A historical price rise or fall around a halving cannot by itself show that the event caused it or predict the next cycle.
For miners, the lower subsidy can change profitability, especially when electricity, equipment, financing, and transaction-fee income differ across operations. Mining difficulty adjusts as hash rate changes, but no single difficulty adjustment guarantees that a particular miner remains profitable or that network conditions stay constant.
What Comes After the 2024 Event
The next programmed reduction follows at block 1,050,000, an estimated 2028 milestone rather than a guaranteed date. Bitcoin.org lists the next subsidy as 1.5625 BTC per block. The important distinction is between block number, subsidy, transaction fees, and calendar estimate: only the block-height rule defines when the protocol applies the change.
Halving History
The first three halvings took place in 2012, 2016, and 2020, reducing the subsidy to 25, 12.5, and 6.25 BTC respectively. The 2024 event continued that same rule at block 840,000. Describing it as a supply-schedule change is more precise than treating it as a prediction about price or miner income.
Related Terms
See Also
- What Happens When All Bitcoin Has Been Mined?
- Bitcoin ETFs and Institutional Access
- Bitcoin and the Stock Market: Correlation and Its Limits
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Sources
- Bitcoin.org halving guide — This reference lists the April 20, 2024 event at block 840,000, the new subsidy, 210,000-block intervals, and future estimate.
- Bitcoin Developer Guide: Mining — The technical guide distinguishes miner block rewards and transaction fees and explains how mining contributes to block production.
- Bitcoin Core validation code — The consensus implementation is the reference for the block-height subsidy calculation and interval logic.