Trading term

What is Bitcoin halving?

The bitcoin halving is the cut, every 210,000 blocks (about every four years), that halves the number of new bitcoins created as the reward for adding a block.

New bitcoins are paid to whoever adds the next block to the blockchain, about 144 times a day. Every 210,000 blocks that reward is cut in half. It started at 50 bitcoins a block and has been cut four times, in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, to 3.125. The next halving is at block 1,050,000, expected around 2028.

Many traders believe the halving drives a four-year price cycle. All four cycles so far peaked between 371 and 546 days after the halving. But each cycle has been smaller: from halving day to peak, bitcoin rose 93x, 30x, 7.9x and then 1.9x.

For example

The 2024 halving cut the reward from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins a block, or from 900 to 450 new coins a day. That took yearly supply growth from 1.7% to 0.8%. The 2012 halving took it from 25% to 12.5%.

Go hands-on in Premium

That's Bitcoin halving in theory — it clicks when you read it on a live chart. Practise it hands-on in the TradeWize Premium Futures & Derivatives track.

Explore Premium →

Why it matters to you

The halving is the one part of bitcoin's supply you can put on a calendar. But each one removes half as many new coins as the one before, and a smaller share of the supply, so its effect on the price may shrink too.

⚠ Treating four cycles as a law

The four-year pattern rests on four examples, and other big events lined up with every one. In the 2024 cycle bitcoin hit a new high 47 days before the halving, not after, and in 2026 it closed below its halving-day price for the first time.

Frequently asked questions

How often does the bitcoin halving happen?

Every 210,000 blocks. At about 144 blocks a day that's roughly every four years. The dates so far were 28 November 2012, 9 July 2016, 11 May 2020 and 20 April 2024.

Does bitcoin go up after the halving?

In the year after each halving so far, yes, but by less every time: +8,190%, +286%, +562%, then +31%. Four examples can't prove the halving was the cause.

Read the full guide

How markets workThe Bitcoin Halving Cycle: Four Cycles, MeasuredEvery bitcoin cycle has peaked 371 to 546 days after its halving. Every cycle has also been smaller: the rise from halving day to peak went 93x, 30x, 7.9x, then 1.9x. Here's what the four cycles show, and what they can't.8 min read

Related terms

BackwardationBackwardation is when futures prices are lower for later delivery dates — the futures curve slopes downward. It often signals tight near-term supply or strong demand for immediate delivery. For futures holders it creates a positive 'roll yield,' as they sell pricier near-term contracts and buy cheaper later ones.BasisBasis is the difference between an asset's futures price and its current spot (cash) price. It reflects carrying costs, supply and demand, and time to expiry — and it converges to zero as the contract nears expiration, since a future about to settle must match the spot price. Traders watch basis to gauge conditions and to hedge.Borrow feeThe borrow fee is what a short seller pays to rent the shares they've borrowed, quoted as an annual rate on the value of the position and charged for every day the short is held. An easy-to-borrow stock might cost a fraction of a percent a year; a hard-to-borrow one can cost many times that.Cash-and-carryA cash-and-carry is a trade that buys an asset and sells a dated futures contract on it at the same time, then holds both to expiry. The two legs close at the same price on settlement day, so the trader keeps the gap between the futures price and the spot price — the basis — as a return that is known on the day the trade is put on.
← Back to the full glossary