What year did the first Bitcoin halving occur?

The first Bitcoin halving occurred in 2012. It cut the reward for mining a block from 50 BTC to 25 BTC.

Bitcoin’s protocol reduces the block subsidy by half after every 210,000 blocks. This schedule limits the rate at which new coins enter circulation and is part of the system’s programmed monetary policy. Because blocks are designed to arrive about every 10 minutes, 210,000 blocks takes roughly four years.

The first halving took place on November 28, 2012, at block 210,000. It marked the end of Bitcoin’s original 50-BTC block-reward era. The event did not destroy existing coins or reduce balances already held in wallets; it changed the reward available for newly mined blocks.

People sometimes confuse the halving year with the year Bitcoin launched. The network began in 2009, and its first halving came nearly four years later. Later halvings occurred in 2016, 2020, and 2024, each reducing the subsidy again.

Halvings are frequently discussed in connection with price rises, but the protocol change itself is mechanical. Market prices depend on many factors, so a halving does not guarantee a particular investment result.