Roughly every four years, the Bitcoin network cuts the block reward miners receive in half. This event, known as the "halving," is written directly into Bitcoin's code and has occurred multiple times since the network launched in 2009.
The mechanism is simple: every 210,000 blocks (about four years, given Bitcoin's ~10 minute average block time), the number of new bitcoins created per block drops by 50%. This caps Bitcoin's total supply at 21 million coins and makes new issuance progressively smaller over time.
For miners, a halving is a direct cut to revenue from block rewards. Miners running older, less efficient hardware can be pushed out of profitability, which is why mining difficulty and network hash rate often adjust in the months following a halving.
For holders, halvings are widely discussed because they reduce the rate of new supply entering circulation. Historically, prior halvings have been followed by significant price moves in the following months, though past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and many other market factors are always at play.
Understanding the halving mechanism is a useful starting point for evaluating Bitcoin's monetary policy — but it should never be treated as financial advice or a guaranteed trading signal.
