Bitcoin miners have been facing a significant decline in earnings over the past 24 hours, as the current hashprice remains at a remarkably low level. Just five days ago, miners were reaping the benefits of an average of 5.105 BTC per block, which included a combination of new BTC and transaction fees, following a peak in the hashprice. However, the average yield per block reward has dropped by 24.97% in the last 100 blocks since last Sunday.
Despite the confirmation of nearly 1 million transactions in a single day, miners’ revenue has hit a multi-year low. As of 7 a.m. Eastern Time on April 26, 2024, the hashprice, which represents the expected earnings from 1 petahash per second (PH/s) of hashing power per day, was a mere $56.95. This rate is the lowest it has been in the past seven years, even with the surge in activity from Runes protocol transactions. On April 23, a record-breaking 927,010 transactions were verified by bitcoin miners in one day.
During this record-setting day, transfers related to the Runes protocol accounted for over 81% of all processed transactions. Miners have managed to accumulate 2,129 BTC in transaction fees from more than 11,000 Runes-centric coins. However, the willingness of Runes-based token holders to pay high fees has diminished since April 19, and the average transaction fee has now dropped to 32 satoshis per virtual byte (sats/vB) for a high-priority transfer, a significant reduction from the 91.4 sats/vB or $12.98 per transaction paid on April 25.
Five days prior to this, miners were earning an average revenue of 5.105 BTC, following the post-halving boom, starting from block height 840,179. Between block heights 840,179 and 840,417, miners earned an average of 4.95 BTC from both subsidies and fees. However, in the most recent 100 blocks, from block height 840,849 to 840,949, the average revenue per block has dipped to about 3.83 BTC.
The surge in bitcoin’s transaction volume on April 23, with a historical high, highlights the stark contrast in economic realities within the digital currency’s ecosystem. The decreasing hashprice and reduced fees from Runes-based transactions emphasize the challenges and evolving dynamics in the mining sector. As this trend continues, it raises concerns about the sustainability of mining profitability and the long-term implications for network security.
What are your thoughts on the losses in mining revenue that miners are experiencing? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
