What Is the Bitcoin Halving and Why It Matters for Miners

Roughly every four years (every 210,000 blocks), the Bitcoin block reward is cut in half. This event — the halving — is built into Bitcoin's code and is the mechanism that caps supply at 21 million coins.

How it affects your earnings

The block reward is the number of new bitcoin paid to miners for each block. In 2024 it dropped from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. All else equal, that halves the coin portion of your revenue overnight. Our calculator already uses the current 3.125 BTC reward.

Halvings don't reduce your hashrate — they reduce how many coins that hashrate earns.

Why price often offsets it

Historically, reduced new supply has coincided with rising prices, which can offset — or exceed — the reward cut. But that's never guaranteed. Efficient hardware and cheap power are what keep you profitable through a halving, regardless of price.

Preparing as a miner

• Upgrade to efficient hardware before margins tighten.
• Lock in the lowest electricity rate you can.
• Model your break-even power price using the calculator's ROI fields.