Bitcoin Mining Revenue Hit $100 Million on Halving Day
22 Apr, 2024 ● Crypto News
On Bitcoin's halving day in 2024, which fell on April 20, Bitcoin mining revenue surpassed the $100 million threshold for the first time, hitting a record of $107.7 million in total earnings from mining rewards and transaction fees.
This historic milestone occurred as participants eagerly paid premium fees to have their transactions included in the 840,000th block, a significant block that triggered the fourth Bitcoin halving.
The desire to be part of this historic event led investors to spend a substantial 37.7 BTC, equivalent to $2.4 million, in transaction fees alone to secure a spot in this limited-capacity block.
With 3,050 transactions processed in this block, the average cost per transaction soared to just under $800.
A significant portion of the heightened activity and escalated fees was driven by the introduction of Casey Rodarmor's Runes Protocol, which coincided with the halving event.
This new protocol, part of the Bitcoin Ordinals ecosystem, attracted a flurry of activity as users sought to inscribe and etch rare satoshis on this particular block.
The previous record for daily mining revenue was set on March 11, at $78.7 million, which aligned with a new Bitcoin price peak of $71,415.
The relationship between mining revenue and the market price of Bitcoin is direct, as miners are compensated in BTC for their role in verifying and securing blockchain transactions.
The halving event itself cut the mining reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block, a change that occurs approximately every four years and is designed to manage Bitcoin's inflation and supply generation over time.
Following the halving and the initial frenzy, the excitement and transaction congestion seen on April 20 quickly subsided
By the following day, average Bitcoin transaction fees had dramatically decreased to between $8 and $10 for medium-priority transactions, according to data from mempool.space.
This sharp reduction in fees after such a significant spike reflects the transient nature of heightened activity typically associated with milestone events like the Bitcoin halving.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-mining-revenue-107-m-ath-btc-halving-day
