December 2023 was a game-changer for Bitcoin miners, as they raked in an astonishing $1.51 billion in revenue, making it the most lucrative month of the year. Notably, this month also witnessed a remarkable milestone in fee collection, with miners pocketing a whopping $324.83 million in onchain transaction fees.
Breaking Records: $1.51 Billion Monthly Haul for Bitcoin Miners
December 2023 will go down in history as a record-breaking month for Bitcoin (BTC) miners. By the end of December, they had collectively amassed an eye-popping $1.51 billion, including a substantial $324.83 million from onchain fees. This achievement shattered the previous monthly revenue record set in May, when miners hauled in a total of $919.22 million, including $125.92 million from onchain fees.
Comparing the figures, in July, miners earned a total of $865 million, with fees contributing $19.21 million to that amount. However, December’s performance was nothing short of remarkable, surpassing May’s record by a staggering 1.64 times. This represents a remarkable growth of 64.27% or an additional $590.78 million in just one month. To put it into perspective, as of now, December’s onchain transaction rates are soaring, with the average fee reaching 231 satoshis per virtual byte (sats/vB) or $20.86 per transaction.
As of December 31, 2023, the median-sized fee stood at $9.60 per transaction or 106.3 sats/vB. Furthermore, on December 17, 2023, fees experienced a spike, reaching as high as $40 per transfer, with an average of around $37.43 per transaction—making it the peak for on-chain fees in the entire year, surpassing the previous high of $31 on May 8, 2023.
On December 17, the hash price of Bitcoin, representing the value of a single petahash per second (PH/s) produced daily, hit a zenith for 2023 at $133.62 per PH/s, surpassing the earlier record of $125.64 per PH/s on May 8. However, despite these impressive numbers, miners continue to grapple with a backlog of over 496,000 unconfirmed transactions and congestion involving 430 blocks.
The impressive performance of Bitcoin miners in December 2023 has left the cryptocurrency community buzzing with excitement. What are your thoughts on this record-breaking achievement? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
