Bitcoin Halving Triggers Record-Breaking Block Fees
Bitcoin miners are going all out in the race for halving blocks, with fees reaching record highs. The 840,000th block was recently added to the Bitcoin blockchain, and one mining pool, ViaBTC, made history by paying over $2.4 million in fees for mining the block. This marks the highest fee ever paid for a Bitcoin block, showcasing the intense competition in the mining space.
In addition to the hefty fees, ViaBTC received a total payout of 40.7 BTC, valued at approximately $2.6 million, for their efforts. The significance of the 840,000th block lies in the fact that it holds the first Satoshis, or ‘sats,’ following the halving event. These fragmented BTC units are highly sought after by cryptocurrency enthusiasts, with some speculating that they could be worth millions of dollars.
The competition for Bitcoin blocks has been further fueled by the launch of the Runes Protocol, created by Bitcoin developer Casey Rodamor. Degens, or avid cryptocurrency enthusiasts, are rushing to secure the rarest Runes by paying exorbitant fees. In total, over 78.6 BTC, valued at $4.95 million, has been spent on minting these tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.
The success of the Runes Protocol has been hailed by Leonidas, protocol developer and host of the Ordinals system. He believes that degens have played a crucial role in offsetting the drop in miner rewards from the halving, and that Runes have significantly impacted Bitcoin’s security budget. With the BTC price sitting at $63,700 after the halving, the cryptocurrency community is abuzz with excitement over the future of Bitcoin mining and token minting.
