Blog / Historical Archive

Every Bitcoin Halving Compared: 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024

Block heights, subsidy cuts and supply inflation across all four Bitcoin halvings.

The schedule in code

Bitcoin's subsidy is computed as 50 BTC shifted right by floor(height / 210,000). That produces 25 BTC at block 210,000, 12.5 at 420,000, 6.25 at 630,000 and 3.125 at 840,000. Because blocks average ten minutes, each era lasts close to four years, and the final satoshi of subsidy is expected around the year 2140.

Halving one and two

The first halving struck on November 28, 2012, with BTC near $12; a year later price passed $1,000. The second, at block 420,000 on July 9, 2016, came with BTC near $650 and preceded the 2017 rally to almost $20,000. In both cycles daily new supply fell from 7,200 to 3,600 and then to 1,800 coins.

Halving three during a pandemic

Block 630,000 was mined on May 11, 2020, with BTC around $8,600, two months after the March 2020 crash. Issuance dropped to 900 BTC per day while corporate treasuries and later ETF-style products increased demand, and BTC reached about $69,000 in November 2021.

Halving four and the fee spike

Block 840,000 on April 20, 2024, paid roughly 37.7 BTC in fees as users raced to etch the first Runes tokens, the largest fee haul for a single block in years. Daily issuance fell to 450 BTC, and miner revenue per terahash, known as hashprice, dropped to record lows near $40 per PH per day within months.

What the comparison shows

Each halving cuts annual inflation roughly in half, from about 12 percent in 2012 to under 1 percent after 2024. Price reactions have shrunk in percentage terms with each cycle, which analysts attribute to a larger market cap and to most supply already being mined: more than 93 percent of all bitcoin existed by the fourth halving.

By the numbers

For Every Bitcoin Halving Compared, the reference figures are halving 1 of Block 210,000 (Nov 28, 2012): 50 to 25 BTC, halving 2 of Block 420,000 (Jul 9, 2016): 25 to 12.5 BTC, halving 3 of Block 630,000 (May 11, 2020): 12.5 to 6.25 BTC, halving 4 of Block 840,000 (Apr 20, 2024): 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. The comparison table below lines up halving, block, date, new subsidy, btc price — 1st: 210,000 / 2012-11-28 / 25 BTC / ~$12; 2nd: 420,000 / 2016-07-09 / 12.5 BTC / ~$650; 3rd: 630,000 / 2020-05-11 / 6.25 BTC / ~$8,600; 4th: 840,000 / 2024-04-20 / 3.125 BTC / ~$64,000.

Modeling Every Bitcoin Halving Compared with the Bitcoin Halving Subsidy Schedule Calculator

The Bitcoin Halving Subsidy Schedule Calculator takes three inputs — Halvings from genesis, BTC price ($), Blocks per day. Daily issuance = 50 ÷ 2^halvings × blocks × price. With its default inputs (Halvings from genesis = 4; BTC price ($) = 65000; Blocks per day = 144) it returns 29,250,000 $; swap in the figures from Every Bitcoin Halving Compared above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling Every Bitcoin Halving Compared with the Bitcoin Hashprice Difficulty Estimator

The Bitcoin Hashprice Difficulty Estimator takes three inputs — BTC price ($), Network hashrate (EH/s), Fees per block (BTC). Hashprice = (subsidy + fees) × 144 × price ÷ network TH. With its default inputs (BTC price ($) = 65000; Network hashrate (EH/s) = 650; Fees per block (BTC) = 0.2) it returns 0.05 $/TH; swap in the figures from Every Bitcoin Halving Compared above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling Every Bitcoin Halving Compared with the Bitcoin Mining KWH Profitability Calculator

The Bitcoin Mining KWH Profitability Calculator takes three inputs — Hashrate (TH/s), Power (W), Electricity ($/kWh). Daily profit = TH × hashprice − kWh × rate. With its default inputs (Hashrate (TH/s) = 200; Power (W) = 3500; Electricity ($/kWh) = 0.07) it returns 4.12 $; swap in the figures from Every Bitcoin Halving Compared above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Data Table

For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and historical; crypto assets are volatile and you may lose capital. Do your own research.