When is the next Bitcoin halving?

At block 1,050,000, when the subsidy drops from 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC. At the 10-minute block target that lands around 2028, but the exact date is only an estimate that drifts with actual block pace — the live countdown on this page recomputes it from the current chain height.

What happens to miners after the halving?

Subsidy revenue per unit of hashrate is cut in half overnight. Machines with the highest electricity cost per hash go cash-negative first and shut down — a capitulation that shows up in hash-ribbon indicators — after which difficulty adjusts downward and the surviving miners recover network share.

Will transaction fees replace the block subsidy?

It is an open question. Fees are volatile: they have briefly exceeded the subsidy during congestion spikes, but usually make up a small share of the total block reward. The fee-share metric on BasinTwo's Bitcoin fees page tracks the ratio live.

Bitcoin Halving Countdown 2028 — Date, Block & Miner Impact

What is the halving?

Every 210,000 blocks — roughly every four years at the 10-minute block target — the number of new bitcoins created in each block is cut in half. This is a consensus rule baked into Bitcoin since its 2009 launch, not a decision anyone makes: every node enforces it automatically at the same block height.

The countdown above is an estimate. The halving happens at an exact block height (1,050,000), not an exact date; the date shown simply multiplies the remaining blocks by the 600-second target. Actual block pace runs slightly fast or slow with hashrate swings, so the real date drifts by days to weeks.

The subsidy schedule

subsidy(height) = 50 / 2^floor(height / 210,000) BTC
current era (blocks 840,000 – 1,049,999): 3.125 BTC per block
next era (from block 1,050,000): 1.5625 BTC per block

Bitcoin launched in January 2009 paying 50 BTC per block. Each halving since has stepped the subsidy down on schedule:

Halving	Block height	Date	Subsidy change
1st	210,000	Nov 28, 2012	50 → 25 BTC
2nd	420,000	Jul 9, 2016	25 → 12.5 BTC
3rd	630,000	May 11, 2020	12.5 → 6.25 BTC
4th	840,000	Apr 20, 2024	6.25 → 3.125 BTC
5th	1,050,000	est. ~2028	3.125 → 1.5625 BTC

The halvings continue until the subsidy rounds down to zero around the year 2140, capping total supply at 21 million BTC. From then on, miners are paid by transaction fees alone.

Why the halving halves revenue per TH/s

A miner's income is their share of what the network pays out. The payout per unit of hashrate — the hashprice — is:

revenue per TH/s per day = (86,400 s / 600 s) × (subsidy + avg fees per block) × (1 TH/s ÷ network hashrate) × BTC price

before: 144 blocks × (3.125 + fees) BTC × share × price
after: 144 blocks × (1.5625 + fees) BTC × share × price
→ the subsidy component of revenue per TH/s drops 50% overnight

Unless BTC price rises or fees grow to compensate, every machine on the network earns roughly half as many dollars per terahash the moment the halving block is mined. Machines whose electricity cost per hash was already near their revenue go cash-flow negative first and shut down — the least-efficient fleet capitulates, difficulty adjusts down at the following retargets, and the surviving miners claw back network share.

The halving is the one revenue shock miners can see coming years in advance. Model it before buying hardware: the mining calculator lets you apply the post-halving subsidy, and the Puell Multiple tracks how the value of daily issuance compares to its yearly average — halvings mechanically cut it in half.

FAQ

When is the next Bitcoin halving?: At block 1,050,000, when the subsidy drops from 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC. At the 10-minute block target that lands around 2028, but the exact date is only an estimate that drifts with actual block pace — the live countdown on this page recomputes it from the current chain height.
What happens to miners after the halving?: Subsidy revenue per unit of hashrate is cut in half overnight. Machines with the highest electricity cost per hash go cash-negative first and shut down — a capitulation that shows up in hash-ribbon indicators — after which difficulty adjusts downward and the surviving miners recover network share.
Will transaction fees replace the block subsidy?: It is an open question. Fees are volatile: they have briefly exceeded the subsidy during congestion spikes, but usually make up a small share of the total block reward. The fee-share metric on BasinTwo's Bitcoin fees page tracks the ratio live.