Bitcoin Latest Halving Creates Record-Breaking Blocks

The first impact of Bitcoin’s halving is positive for miners as some of the most valuable blocks in the cryptocurrency’s history recorded $2.6 million in fees and block rewards alone. This is despite the split in the miner’s reward due to the halving event.

Impact of Bitcoin Halving on Miners’ Rewards

A crypto enthusiast on X, Clark Moody, first drew the attention of the crypto community to the monetary reward of the mined block in terms of U.S. dollar value at the time the block was mined. The first halving block alone generated $2.6 million in fees and block rewards surpassed only by the $3 million overpayment in November 2023, a record-high block value caused by an apparent error.

Nine of the top 10 most valuable blocks have been mined today pic.twitter.com/0W5zbLOHx0

— Clark Moody (@clarkmoody) April 20, 2024

Meanwhile, subsequent blocks ranged in value from $1.3 million to $2 million. This clearly shows that purposeful transactions were driving these high-value blocks. Now, the focus is on creating premium Bitcoin units and inscribed data.

Bitcoin’s Unique Epic Sats and Rare Sats

One of the unique incentives for mining the first halving block is the “epic sat,” a specially inscribed unit of Bitcoin. Epic sats, which are created only once every halving, are much rarer than “rare sats,” one of which was auctioned for over $100,000 by Sotheby’s.

The first epic sat, since the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol’s invention, could be sold at an auction as well and potentially fetch a record-breaking price.

Renewed Interest in Runes and Inscribed Data

The quadrennial halving event also introduced renewed interest in Runes. This is a protocol that allows users to inscribe data on the Bitcoin blockchain. The first Rune deployed was worth $430,000 in an airdrop to specific holders of Ordinals collections. The others cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to deploy them on the Bitcoin blockchain.

The resultant influx of high-value transactions has dramatically increased the value of Bitcoin blocks, with 9 out of the top 10 most valuable blocks being mined directly after the halving. The single exception was a $500,000 overpayment by Paxos, which was later returned by the mining pool involved.

These record-breaking figures in blocks mined do not, however, mean that miners’ reward for verifying transactions is not impacted. The mining difficulty has increased and their profitability will drop significantly leading to reliance on transaction fees to meet costs. Regardless, Grayscale, a prominent firm specializing in digital asset management believes miners are well-positioned to thrive in the changed landscape.