The Bitcoin network is now more than halfway (50.01%) through its current halving cycle, with the next halving expected on April 12, 2028, just under two years away, according to mempool.space.
This cycle, known as “epoch 5”, which began in April 2024 and will continue until 2028.
A halving happens every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years, and reduces the reward miners receive by 50%.
This process controls bitcoin issuance and ensures a predictable decrease in the rate of inflation (currently below 1%). In the current epoch, the block grant is 3,125 BTC per block. With blocks mined on average every 10 minutes, around 450 BTC are issued daily.
This 10-minute schedule is maintained through difficulty adjustments that occur every 2,016 blocks. The network increases or decreases mining difficulty depending on how quickly blocks are found, keeping issuance consistent.
With approximately 104,986 blocks left in this cycle, bitcoin’s supply continues its reliable path toward its fixed ceiling. Each new epoch further reduces the issue and its inflation, reinforcing its long-term scarcity.
Bitcoin has a fixed maximum supply of 21,000,000 coins, one of its main characteristics which supports its scarcity. Recently, the network reached a major milestone when bitcoin number 20 was mined, meaning that the last million will take another 114 years to mine.
Bitcoin post-halving gains lag previous cycles
Bitcoin is up about 15% since the April 2024 halving, rising from around $64,000 to just under $75,000. Previously, it hit a high of around $126,000 in October 2025 before falling around 50% to $60,000 in early February.
However, it has underperformed previous cycles in the same post-halving period, continuing the trend of diminishing returns, according to Glassnode data.
This is widely expected as bitcoin matures, with greater adoption and a larger market cap requiring more capital to drive large gains. As a result, volatility decreases each cycle and price action becomes more gradual compared to previous cycles.
