But if we reverse-engineer: when does halving reach 1?

Sun, 03 May 2026 11:00:22 +0000

But If We Reverse-Engineer: When Does the Next Bitcoin Halving Reach 1? Bitcoin’s halving is one of its most defining features—built into the protocol to mimic scarcity and influence long-term price dynamics. With the current Block #845,212 on the Bitcoin network, the cryptocurrency’s halving mechanism has just been triggered, cutting new block rewards from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC. But while many track halving dates as a historical or future milestone, a deeper question emerges: When does the next halving reach exactly 1 BTC per block? In Bitcoin’s design, halving occurs every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years, though network difficulty adjustments ensure the timing remains responsive to mining hash rate. Since the first halving in 2012 (6.25 → 3.25 BTC), three were completed: in 2016, 2020, and now in 2024. The next projected halving falls around block #941,212—approximately April 2028—but the question isn’t when it happens, rather when will it reach 1 BTC per block? Crucially, each halving reduces the inflation rate from 50% annually to approximately 18.75%, but the block reward itself asymptotically approaches zero—not reaching exactly 1 BTC per block. The reward halves exponentially: 6.25 → 3.125 → 3.125 → 3.125… (it plateaus). It never drops to 1 because the protocol lock-sets the reward at 3.125 BTC after Genesis Block 12, meaning halving stabilizes the issuance rate, not lowers it toward 1.