What is a Bitcoin halving
A Bitcoin halving cuts the new bitcoin in each block in half. It happens every 210,000 blocks, about four years, and nobody votes on it. The rule has been in the software since the first block.
The subsidy and the fees
The new bitcoin is the subsidy, the coins the network creates in the block. It started at 50 BTC. The cuts so far took it to 25 BTC in 2012, at block 210,000; to 12.5 BTC in 2016, at block 420,000; to 6.25 BTC in 2020, at block 630,000; and to 3.125 BTC in April 2024, at block 840,000. The next cut, to 1.5625 BTC, lands at block 1,050,000, around 2028 if blocks stay near ten minutes. Transaction fees are separate. A fee is what someone attaches so a transaction is taken into the batch, and the halving leaves that fee alone. The miner is paid the subsidy plus the fees. The batch is a Bitcoin block. The race that wins it is Bitcoin mining.
The count is the rule, and the calendar date is only where that count lands. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. Keep halving and the subsidy shrinks until it rounds down to nothing around the year 2140. From then on, fees are the only bitcoin a block pays. Mining difficulty is what keeps blocks near ten minutes between those halvings. The two rules do different jobs. Difficulty follows how busy mining is. The halving cuts the subsidy on a fixed number of blocks. A halving does not set a price.
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What changes for hashrate you rent
A halving changes the new bitcoin inside a block. Your rented hashrate stays that number of attempts, and it is still a share of the work. A mining pool splits whatever the block pays, subsidy plus fees, across that work. Bitcoin mining rewards and payouts is your share of a real day after electricity is taken out.
The hashing is still done by SHA-256 ASICs, including the Antminer S21 XP Hyd, the Whatsminer M60, and the Antminer S19 Pro. Each of those machines is an ASIC miner. Bitcoin mining and electricity stays the same through a halving: the electricity comes out of that day's mined bitcoin. Hosted hashrate and buying a miner stays a rental of capacity.
Frequently asked questions
3.125 BTC per block, since the April 2024 halving at block 840,000. Fees in the block are extra.
At block 1,050,000. If blocks stay near ten minutes, that is around 2028, and the subsidy becomes 1.5625 BTC.
No. The TH is still the attempts you rented. The halving changes how much new bitcoin a block carries.
No. The halving cuts only the new bitcoin. Fees are whatever the transactions in that block paid.
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The latest Bitcoin miners
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