What a block reward includes
When a miner finds a valid block they can include a special first transaction, the coinbase transaction, paying themselves. Its amount is the block subsidy (newly created coins under the chain's issuance rules) plus all transaction fees from the block. It's how new coins enter circulation and how miners are paid for securing the network.
Different chains, different rules
- Litecoin: blocks about every 2.5 minutes; the subsidy halves every 840,000 blocks (about four years)
- Dogecoin: blocks about every minute; a fixed reward per block with no scheduled halving
- Bitcoin: blocks about every 10 minutes; halves every 210,000 blocks
Reward sizes change over time, so check the current figure rather than relying on a remembered number.
From block reward to miner income
Expected daily income ≈ (your hashrate ÷ network hashrate) × blocks per day × reward per block × price. In pool mining, the pool splits rewards according to its payout scheme and takes a fee, so what you receive can differ from the raw estimate.
Verifying rewards
Each block's coinbase transaction is public. You can inspect a recent block on the coin's block explorer to see the reward paid — which is also how calculators derive recent miner rewards.
Caveats
Coinbase rewards typically can't be spent until they have matured for a number of blocks, and a miner's realized income depends on pool rules, luck and price movement.
Rewards and payout timing
Even after a block is found, the reward is not instantly spendable: coinbase outputs typically must mature for a fixed number of blocks first, and a pool then pays participants on its own schedule. So there can be a gap of hours or days between a block being found and coins arriving in your wallet. Check the pool's payout history and the block explorer if a payout seems late.