Bitcoin (BTC) miners have achieved a new revenue milestone from validating transactions, following the 2024 halving. As Bitcoin fees surge, these miners are making high earnings, sparking discussions about the future dynamics of the network.
Following the recent Bitcoin halving on April 20, 2024, miner revenue surged to an all-time high of $106.7 million, with 75.444% of it stemming from network transaction fees. This highlights a pivotal shift in miner compensation strategies post-halving.
Percent Miner Revenue from Fees. Source. Glassnode
Mining pool distribution for the past 3 days. Source hashrateindex
Prominent mining pools, including Foundry, Antpool, Viabtc, Poolin, and F2pool, have played essential roles in this financial windfall, particularly in securing blocks that carried hefty transaction fees. These fees saw a dramatic increase to $240 per transaction with the introduction of the Runes protocol, though they have since adjusted to a range of $35 to $75.
This period also witnessed a record level of on-chain activity, with the number of transactions on the Bitcoin network reaching a new high of 991,029,144 transactions in a single week.
Number of Transactions. Source . Blockchain.com
This uptick in activity explains the corresponding increases in miner revenue and hashrate. As the Runes token protocol kicked off with the 2024 halving, it sparked intense competition for block space, with participants striving to be the first to generate tokens
The evolving landscape of Bitcoin mining
As the cryptocurrency sector adjusts to these new economic conditions, the impacts on network security, miner profitability, and Bitcoin fees will become clearer over time.
The rising share of transaction fees in total block revenue is already spurring the development of second-layer solutions like the Lightning Network. This innovation aims to decrease costs and improve transaction speeds on the blockchain, addressing some of the scalability issues faced by the network as it continues to grow.
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