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What is the block reward?
The block reward is what a Bitcoin miner earns for adding a valid block: newly created bitcoin, called the block subsidy, plus the fees paid by every transaction in that block. The subsidy halves every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years, until issuance stops at 21 million bitcoin.
What it means for you
The fee you attach to a transaction becomes part of the reward for whichever miner includes it, which is why higher fee rates compete for limited block space. As the subsidy keeps halving, fees are expected to make up a growing share of what miners are paid.
How it works
The first transaction in each block, the coinbase transaction, collects the reward: the block subsidy plus the leftover of every other transaction in the block, meaning the amount by which its inputs exceed its outputs. Coins created this way cannot be spent for at least 100 blocks. The subsidy is cut in half every 210,000 blocks, so the number of new bitcoin per year falls until issuance halts at 21 million. After that, miners would be supported by transaction fees alone.
Sources: Bitcoin Developer Guide: Block Chain, Bitcoin vocabulary (bitcoin.org), Bitcoin FAQ (bitcoin.org) · checked 4 October 2026
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