After the halving event, transaction fees for Bitcoin transactions surged exponentially, with medium-priority transactions costing $146 and high-priority transactions costing $170. However, following the halving, the average fees for these transactions have seen a significant decrease.
The Runes NFT collection was anticipated to help maintain fee revenue post-halving. However, the floor price for this collection has also dropped. While block fees increased on the halving day, surpassing the halved block subsidy faced by miners.
Miners Facing Challenges After Halving
Transaction fees for Bitcoin have sharply declined after hitting an average high of $128 on April 20. Within just 24 hours post-halving, these fees reverted to lower levels.
Fees now make up 35% of total miner revenue, which currently stands at around $50 million. This marks a 35% decrease from the pre-halving record of approximately $78 million.
According to Crypto Fees, Bitcoin transaction fees have reached $78.3 million, outpacing Ethereum by 24 times. The proportion of miner revenue derived from transaction fees has notably decreased after surging during the halving.
A recent CryptoQuant report indicates that transaction fees now contribute 35% to total miner revenue, a stark drop from the 75% reported on April 19. Despite the surge during the halving, where daily miner revenue hit $100 million, with daily fees on the Bitcoin network at 1,258 BTC ($80 million).
On the halving day, transaction fees were exceptionally high, largely due to the increased utilization of the Runes protocol. The protocol experienced a peak of 512,000 users enabling them to issue and transfer fungible tokens using OP RETURN codes for data storage.
Decrease in Transaction Fees Noteworthy
Bitcoin transaction fees have plummeted from $80 million on April 20 to $6 million, according to YCharts data. Over the past week, these fees have averaged around $16 million, with the lowest figure observed on April 26.
While miners could potentially benefit from increased transaction fees and BTC prices to offset the 50% reduction in block rewards, the struggle to surpass the $64,000 milestone and declining transaction fees might prompt some miners to exit the industry.
Nevertheless, CryptoQuant suggests it's premature to observe any long-term impacts of the halving on the network hash rate, given that miners seem to be maintaining their operational pace. Currently, the Bitcoin network hash rate is at 617 EH/s, with the price standing at $0.07 per TH/s, the lowest since October.
Final Thoughts
Transaction fees now represent 35% of total miner revenue, a significant drop from the 75% recorded on April 19. Bitcoin has amassed $78.3 million in total fees, surpassing Ethereum by 24 times. With fees on the decline and Bitcoin struggling to move beyond $64,000, some miners may soon be forced to reconsider their participation.
Disclaimer
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