Bitcoin's third subsidy halving
Bitcoin reached block 630,000 and its block subsidy fell from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, completing the network's third programmed halving.
On May 11, 2020, Bitcoin's third subsidy halving took effect at block 630,000. The protocol reduced the new bitcoin created with each block from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, cutting the annualized issuance rate roughly in half without any discretionary policy decision.
Halvings are built into Bitcoin's consensus rules: the subsidy declines every 210,000 blocks and will continue doing so until issuance approaches the 21 million BTC limit. Miners therefore experienced an immediate revenue shock unless higher fees or a higher bitcoin price offset the lower subsidy.
The event was historically distinctive because it demonstrated Bitcoin's monetary policy operating exactly as encoded during an extraordinary period of discretionary fiscal and monetary expansion around the world. The contrast between programmed scarcity and emergency money creation became a defining narrative of Bitcoin's 2020-2021 cycle.