Mining
Halving and mining economics
The halving is the only moment where an entire industry's revenue drops by half in a single block. The adjustment that follows decides who survives.
What happens exactly
Every 210,000 blocks — roughly four years — issuance per block halves. Fees remain, but historically they are a small fraction of the reward.
Miner costs do not change that day, so margins effectively halve unless price rises.
The adjustment afterwards
Loss-making machines switch off, hashrate falls and difficulty corrects downwards, raising revenue per terahash for those who remain.
Each halving makes the sector more efficient and more capital intensive.
- Reward halves immediately
- Hashrate dips temporarily
- Difficulty corrects within weeks
Towards a fee-driven model
Long term, fees must replace the subsidy. That is the key open question around bitcoin's security budget.
Anything that changes block space demand matters more to miners than to users.
Frequently asked questions
Does price always rise after a halving?
No. There are too few observations for a reliable pattern, and markets anticipate a known date.
When is the next halving?
Roughly every four years; the exact date depends on block times.
What does a halving do to my machine?
Revenue per terahash halves immediately and partly recovers as difficulty falls.
Read next
Calculating mining returns
The maths behind mining: hashprice, J/TH efficiency, power price, pool fee and depreciation — with a worked example.
What is crypto mining?
Mining explained without jargon: why networks need computation, what a miner does and where the reward comes from.
Energy and sustainability
Where mining gets its power, how curtailment and waste heat work and which European reporting duties are coming.