How does Bitcoin's supply get cut every four years?

Every four years, the amount of new Bitcoin created gets cut in half. This is called the halving. Every single halving has been followed by a massive price increase as reduced supply meets growing demand.

What happened after the 2024 Bitcoin halving?

Before the 2024 halving, miners produced about 450 new Bitcoin per day. After the halving, that dropped to roughly 225. That's a significant daily reduction in new supply entering the market.

What Is the Bitcoin Halving and Why Does It Matter?

Q: Why can't the Bitcoin halving be stopped or changed?

The halving is written into Bitcoin's code. No committee votes on it. No central bank debates it. It just happens on schedule every 210,000 blocks. This means Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million.

How Bitcoin's Supply Gets Cut Every Four Years

Every four years, something happens to Bitcoin that doesn't happen to any government currency. The amount of new Bitcoin created gets cut in half. It's called the halving — and every single one has been followed by a massive price increase.

To understand why, you need to understand how new Bitcoin enters the world. Miners — computers that secure the Bitcoin network — are rewarded with new Bitcoin for every block they process. A new block is produced roughly every 10 minutes. But every 210,000 blocks (approximately four years), that reward is cut in half.

When Bitcoin launched in 2009, the reward was 50 Bitcoin per block. In 2012, it dropped to 25. In 2016, to 12.5. In 2020, to 6.25. And in April 2024, it dropped again to 3.125.

Supply and Demand After the 2024 Halving

In concrete terms: before the 2024 halving, miners produced about 450 new Bitcoin per day. After the halving, that number dropped to roughly 225. That's a significant reduction in new supply entering the market every single day.

Now think about what happens to the price of anything when the supply gets cut in half but demand stays the same — or increases. The price goes up. This is why 21 million matters. It isn't theory. It's played out after every single halving in Bitcoin's history.

After the 2012 halving, Bitcoin went from about $12 to over $1,100. After the 2016 halving, it went from about $650 to nearly $20,000. After the 2020 halving, it went from about $8,700 to over $69,000. The pattern is remarkably consistent. Use our What If time machine to see what buying before each halving would have returned.

Less supply + same (or growing) demand = higher price.

This isn't speculation. It's basic economics. The halving is hard-coded into Bitcoin's software. No government, no CEO, no central bank can change it. Every four years, the faucet gets tighter — and the market responds.

Why the Halving Cannot Be Stopped or Changed

What makes the halving so powerful is that it's completely predictable and completely unstoppable. It's written into Bitcoin's code. No committee votes on it. No central bank debates it. It just happens, on schedule, every 210,000 blocks.

This also means Bitcoin has a hard cap. There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin. The last fraction of a Bitcoin will be mined around the year 2140. Compare that to the US dollar, where the Federal Reserve can print unlimited amounts at any time. Bitcoin's monetary policy is the opposite: fixed, transparent, and deflationary.

Bitcoin vs Gold vs the Dollar: Fixed Supply Wins

The halving is one of the most important features that separates Bitcoin from every other form of money in human history. Gold's supply increases by about 1-2% per year with no cap. Dollars can be printed at will. But Bitcoin's supply schedule is set in stone — and every four years, it gets even harder to produce.