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I could not find an answer for these questions:

I found out that there are 33 periods of 210,000 blocks?!?!? First one gave the miner 50 bitcoins per block, then 25, 12.5 ... and the last one 1 satoshi.

My questions:

  1. So there must be 32 block halvings, right?
  2. When will the last block halving happen?
  3. When will the block reward fall to 0?

For questions 2 & 3:

  • After which block will it happen?
  • In which year will it happen?
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I created a Google doc to calculate some metrics of the Bitcoin reward schedule including e.g. the number of halvings, their first blocks, and how much supply is left to be mined.

As you can see, there will be 33 epochs of 210,000 blocks with a block subsidy. Bitcoin doesn't end there, after that the block reward will be composed only of transaction fees.

The block subsidy will be reduced 33 times, 32 times halving the block reward, and the last event ("33rd halving") reducing the block subsidy from 1 satoshi per block to zero satoshis per block. The limit of the block subsidy is accounted in a whole number of satoshis. The protocol does not allow partial satoshis to be created.

The last (32nd) halving will occur on block 6,720,000 reducing the block subsidy from 2 sats to 1 sat, approximately in 2136, the 33rd "halving" will reduce the block subsidy to zero in block 6,930,000 approximately in year 2140. This means that the last block with a block subsidy will be block 6,929,999.

Related:

Terminology:

  • Block subsidy: newly minted coins in a block
  • Block reward: the miner's total yield from a block composed of block subsidy plus transaction fees
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1) Yes, there will be 32 block halvinings. Each happens every 210,000 blocks.

2) Assuming a block is mined ~10 minutes, it takes ~4 years to mine 210,000. The last halvining will happen around the year 2140 (block 6,720,000).

3) After the final halvining, the block reward will fall to 0 and the network will have to rely on transaction fees to incentivize miners to continue operating.

Good links for further reading:

https://blockgeeks.com/guides/bitcoin-halving/

https://www.binance.vision/halving

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  • 3) "After the final halvining, the block reward will fall to 0" Is this 4 year after or right after it? Is block 6,719,999 the last block with reward or 6,929,999?
    – hardfork
    Feb 13, 2020 at 18:07
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    There are 33 block subsidy reductions, although the last one doesn't halve the reward but reduces it to zero. So, there are 32 halvings, or 33 "halvings" depending on how you count. ;)
    – Murch ♦
    Feb 13, 2020 at 19:23
  • As I wrote on the question: The block reward includes transaction fees. You probably meant “block subsidy”.
    – Brian Drake
    Mar 6, 2021 at 9:07

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