Bitcoin’s 2024 halving: what changed at block 840,000
At block 840,000, Bitcoin’s subsidy fell to 3.125 BTC. A closer look at the timestamp, mining fees, issuance maths and the next halving.
The block that cut new issuance in half
Bitcoin’s fourth halving arrived at block 840,000 on 20 April 2024. Its timestamp was 00:09:27 UTC, which was still 19 April in parts of the Americas. The block subsidy dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. That time-zone difference explains why reports sometimes give different calendar dates for the same event.
Block height identifies the same event across time zones. The linked explorer records the block’s timestamp, independently of any earlier countdown estimate.
Subsidy, fees and the mining reward
The subsidy is the newly created bitcoin a valid block may claim. Miners can also collect transaction fees. Halving the subsidy doesn’t halve that separate fee component, so the total revenue attached to one block need not be exactly half the revenue attached to its predecessor.
A mining pool can share proceeds among participants according to its own payment system, adding a separate set of terms between the revenue earned by a block and the payment recorded for somebody running one machine. The protocol’s subsidy change is exact; an individual miner’s payout also depends on the pool arrangement, the work contributed and the fees available in the blocks found.
What the daily issuance figures mean
Bitcoin targets an average block interval of about ten minutes. That works out to 144 blocks per day as a simple illustration. At 6.25 BTC per block, the corresponding subsidy is 900 BTC; at 3.125 BTC it is 450 BTC. These are calculations from the target interval, not a measurement of every calendar day.
A halving leaves existing unspent transaction outputs unchanged. Their owners retain the same coins and spending conditions; the lower subsidy applies to newly mined blocks.
Why the countdown can move
Blocks do not arrive on a wall-clock timetable. The network adjusts mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks in response to how quickly that interval was produced. More or less mining power can still change the pace between adjustments, so a projected halving date moves as new blocks appear.
That is why a block-height countdown is more dependable than a date printed years in advance. It identifies the condition that triggers the change, while a calendar estimate has to make assumptions about blocks that have not been mined yet.
The schedule after 2024
The earlier subsidy steps were 25 BTC in 2012, 12.5 BTC in 2016 and 6.25 BTC in 2020. The next scheduled halving is at height 1,050,000, when the subsidy becomes 1.5625 BTC. Bitcoin.org currently estimates that event in 2028.
The issuance schedule is useful evidence about supply. A price forecast needs additional evidence about demand, market conditions and the period being measured. A miner also has electricity and equipment costs to cover. Those costs and future prices aren’t recorded in the halving block.
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