Bitcoin mining revenue soared past the momentous milestone of $100 million, marking an unprecedented peak in daily earnings on the day of Bitcoin’s halving in 2024. On April 20th, Bitcoin miners collectively amassed a staggering $107.7 million from mining rewards and transaction fees, with users willingly shelling out hefty fees to ensure their transactions made it onto the 840,000th Bitcoin block.
Investors vying to etch their names into Bitcoin’s annals parted with 37.7 BTC, equivalent to $2.4 million, in fees alone to secure their portion of the limited real estate on the Bitcoin block, heralding the onset of the fourth halving event. This particular block boasted 3,050 transactions, translating to an average user fee of just under $800.
The unprecedented surge in fees was largely attributed to the frenzied rush to inscribe rare satoshis and symbols onto the halving block. Much of this fervent activity stemmed from the debut of Casey Rodarmor’s Runes Protocol on Bitcoin Ordinals, coinciding with the halving event.
Previously, the highest-ever revenue for Bitcoin miners stood at $78.7 million, achieved on March 11th, when Bitcoin’s value soared to a new pinnacle of $71,415. However, this upsurge in revenue directly paralleled Bitcoin’s market price, as miners receive rewards in BTC for validating transactions across the blockchain.
The halving event on April 20th slashed mining rewards in half for the fourth time, dwindling them to 3.125 BTC per block mined until the subsequent halving event further diminishes them.
In tandem with the waning hype surrounding Bitcoin halving, average fees on Bitcoin plummeted sharply just a day after peaking at a record average of $128 on April 20th. As of April 21st, Bitcoin transaction fees have subsided to an average range of $8 to $10 for medium-priority transactions, according to mempool.space.