Live countdown to the next Bitcoin halving at block 1,050,000, with the current block height, the estimated date, the next difficulty adjustment, recommended fees in sat/vB and dollars, network hashrate and the state of the mempool. Data refreshes automatically every few minutes.
Next Bitcoin halving #5
Estimated date May 23, 2028, 04:46 UTC
- Current block
- 975,557
- Halving block
- 1,050,000
- Blocks left
- 74,443
- Epoch progress
- 64.55 %
- Block reward
- 3.125 BTC now → 1.5625 BTC after the halving
Estimated with the average time of the last 2,016 blocks (10.79 min). At the 10-minute target pace it would be April 12, 2028.
Next difficulty adjustment
Estimated change
| Blocks left | 187 |
|---|---|
| Estimated date | November 13, 2026, 23:21 UTC |
| Period progress | 90.7 % |
| Previous adjustment | +5.54 % |
Recommended fees
USD cost for a typical 140 vB transaction (1 input, 2 SegWit outputs) with BTC at $72,526.
Network and mempool
| Network hashrate | 943.9 EH/s |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 148.36 T |
| Average block time | 10.79 min |
| Mempool transactions | 72,057 |
| Mempool size | 32.8 vMB |
| Pending fees | 0.0413 BTC |
Latest block #975,557
| Mined | November 12, 2026, 13:34 UTC |
|---|---|
| Pool | Braiins Pool |
| Transactions | 2,538 |
| Size | 1.75 MB |
| Fees | 0.0231 BTC |
| Median fee | 1.99 sat/vB |
Halving history
| Event | Block | Date (UTC) | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis block | 0 | January 3, 2009 | 50 BTC |
| Halving 1 | 210,000 | November 28, 2012 | 25 BTC |
| Halving 2 | 420,000 | July 9, 2016 | 12.5 BTC |
| Halving 3 | 630,000 | May 11, 2020 | 6.25 BTC |
| Halving 4 | 840,000 | April 20, 2024 | 3.125 BTC |
| Halving 5 (estimated) | 1,050,000 | ~May 23, 2028 | 1.5625 BTC |
Network data: mempool.space · price: CoinGecko. Dates are estimates: they depend on the actual pace of blocks. Updated: November 12, 2026, 13:35 UTC
What is the Bitcoin halving?
New bitcoins enter circulation as a reward to the miner who adds each block to the chain. Bitcoin’s code cuts that reward in half every 210,000 blocks: that event is the halving. It started at 50 BTC per block in January 2009 and has dropped to 25, 12.5, 6.25 and, since April 2024, 3.125 BTC. At block 1,050,000 it will fall to 1.5625 BTC.
The halving is what makes Bitcoin’s supply predictable. Issuance falls by half roughly every four years until it reaches zero around 2140, and the total will never exceed 21 million BTC. No company or committee decides it: every node on the network enforces the same rule.
How we estimate the halving date
The halving does not happen on a date but at a block height. To turn blocks into time we take the blocks still to be mined and multiply them by the average block time of the last 2,016 blocks (about two weeks). Since hashrate changes, the estimate moves a little every day; we also show the date it would fall on at exactly 10 minutes per block. The closer we get, the more accurate the figure becomes.
What the difficulty adjustment means
Bitcoin aims for one block every 10 minutes. Every 2,016 blocks the network compares how long that period actually took with the expected two weeks and adjusts the mining difficulty accordingly (by at most a factor of four). If miners added hashrate and blocks came faster, difficulty rises; if hashrate left, it falls. The estimate above is based on the pace of the current period and is final only when the period closes.
For miners, difficulty and the halving are the two variables that most change income: a higher difficulty means fewer bitcoins for the same hardware, and the halving cuts the subsidy in half overnight. You can see how both affect your machine in our mining profitability calculator.
How to read Bitcoin fees
Bitcoin fees are not paid per amount sent but per space the transaction takes up in the block, measured in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). Blocks have limited space, so when the mempool (the queue of pending transactions) fills up, those who pay more per vByte get in first. The four levels in the table are mempool.space’s recommendation for confirming in the next block, in about 30 minutes, in about an hour or with no hurry. The dollar figure is an approximation for a simple 140 vB payment; transactions with many inputs cost proportionally more.
Want to know how much a bitcoin is worth right now? Check the live Bitcoin price or convert any amount with the crypto converter.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next Bitcoin halving?
It will happen at block 1,050,000. With the current block at 975,557 there are 74,443 blocks left and, at the average pace of the last two weeks, the estimated date is May 23, 2028. It is an estimate: the exact date depends on how fast blocks are mined.
What will the block reward be after the halving?
The block subsidy will drop from 3.125 BTC to 1.5625 BTC. Miners will still collect the fees of the transactions they include in each block on top of that.
How often does the halving happen?
Every 210,000 blocks. Since the protocol targets one block every 10 minutes, that is roughly four years, although in practice blocks tend to arrive slightly faster or slower and the date shifts by a few weeks.
How many halvings have there been?
Four: November 28, 2012 (block 210,000), July 9, 2016 (420,000), May 11, 2020 (630,000) and April 20, 2024 (840,000). The next one will be the fifth.
When will the last bitcoin be mined?
The reward keeps halving until it can no longer be split into satoshis, which happens around the year 2140. From then on miners will live on fees alone, and the total supply will end slightly below 21 million BTC.
What is the difficulty adjustment?
Every 2,016 blocks (about two weeks) the network recalculates mining difficulty so that blocks keep arriving every 10 minutes on average. If blocks came faster, difficulty goes up; if they came slower, it goes down.
