What is the Bitcoin Halving (Halvening)? Date of halving ( MAY 12 2020 ) New bitcoins are issued by the Bitcoin network every 10 minutes. For the first four years of Bitcoin's existence, the amount of new bitcoins issued every 10 minutes was 50. Every four years, this number is cut in half. The day the amount halves is called a "halving" or "halvening". In 2012, the amount of new bitcoins issued every 10 minutes dropped from 50 bitcoins to 25. In 2016, it dropped from 25 to 12.5. Now, in the 2020 halving, it will drop from 12.5 to 6.25. What is the Significance of the Bitcoin Block Halving? The halving decreases the amount of new bitcoins generated per block. This means the supply of new bitcoins is lower. In normal markets, lower supply with steady demand usually leads to higher prices. Since the halving reduces the supply of new bitcoins, and demand usually remains steady, the halving has usually preceded