What actually happens during a Bitcoin halving
Bitcoin miners earn new coins for every valid block they produce. This is called the block subsidy, often grouped into the broader idea of the block reward.
About every four years, or every 210,000 blocks, that subsidy automatically gets cut in half. It is built into Bitcoin’s code. No vote, no committee, no policy meeting.
The last halving reduced the subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. The next one is expected to reduce it again to 1.5625 BTC per block.
Why this matters:
The halving lowers the rate at which new Bitcoin enters circulation. It also puts pressure on miners, because the new-coin portion of their revenue gets smaller while costs like electricity, hardware, cooling, and maintenance still matter.
One nuance that gets missed a lot:
A halving does not automatically crash or pump the price.
What changes is new supply and miner incentives. Price still depends on demand, liquidity, macro conditions, and market behavior.
Not financial advice, just an educational breakdown.