Skip to main content

Block Reward | Bitcoin Glossary | Mapping Bitcoin

Block Reward

Mineração

Also known as: block subsidy, mining reward

The amount of newly minted bitcoin awarded to the miner who successfully mines a block. The reward started at 50 BTC and halves approximately every 210,000 blocks (about four years), creating Bitcoin's controlled supply schedule.

Overview

The block reward is the primary incentive mechanism that motivates miners to secure the Bitcoin network. When a miner successfully finds a valid proof of work for a new block, they earn the right to include a coinbase transaction that creates new bitcoin and collects all transaction fees from the block.

Halving Schedule

The block reward (subsidy) halves every 210,000 blocks, approximately every four years:

Halving   Block Height     Reward      Approximate Date    Total Supply
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  0            0           50.0  BTC     Jan 2009          10,500,000
  1       210,000          25.0  BTC     Nov 2012          15,750,000
  2       420,000          12.5  BTC     Jul 2016          18,375,000
  3       630,000           6.25 BTC     May 2020          19,687,500
  4       840,000           3.125 BTC    Apr 2024          20,343,750
  ...
  33     6,930,000          ~0   BTC     ~2140             21,000,000

Block Reward Components

The total reward a miner earns per block consists of two parts:

  1. Block subsidy: The newly minted bitcoin (currently 3.125 BTC)
  2. Transaction fees: The sum of all fees paid by transactions included in the block

As the subsidy decreases over time, transaction fees become an increasingly important part of miner revenue, eventually becoming the sole incentive once all 21 million bitcoin have been issued.

Economic Significance

The predictable, decreasing issuance schedule is one of Bitcoin's most important properties. Unlike fiat currencies where central banks can increase the money supply arbitrarily, Bitcoin's supply is mathematically fixed. This predictability allows market participants to accurately forecast future supply, contributing to Bitcoin's value proposition as a scarce digital asset.

Common Misconceptions

Some worry that miners will stop securing the network once the block subsidy becomes negligible. However, if Bitcoin is widely used, transaction fees are expected to provide sufficient incentive. The fee market is already active, with miners earning significant revenue from fees during periods of high demand.

Termos Relacionados

Coinbase TransactionProtocolo

The first transaction in every block, created by the miner to collect the block reward and transaction fees. It has no inputs (since the coins are newly created) and can include arbitrary data in its input field, as Satoshi did with the famous genesis block message.

HalvingEconomia

A pre-programmed event occurring every 210,000 blocks (approximately four years) that cuts the block reward in half. Halvings reduce the rate of new bitcoin creation, contributing to Bitcoin's disinflationary monetary policy and the ultimate supply cap of 21 million BTC.

MiningMineração

The process of using computational power to find a valid nonce that produces a block header hash below the current difficulty target. Mining secures the network, processes transactions, and introduces new bitcoin into circulation through block rewards.

BlockProtocolo

A data structure containing a set of validated transactions, a reference to the previous block, and a proof-of-work solution. Blocks are appended to the blockchain approximately every 10 minutes and form the permanent, ordered record of all Bitcoin transactions.