Bitcoin Miners Hit Record $9.97M Earnings From Ordinals; 61% of BTC Transfers Inscription-Driven

In the wake of a substantial increase in onchain transaction fees for Bitcoin, the compensation to bitcoin miners from inscription-based transfers has hit a record peak in the last 24 hours. An estimated total of $9.97 million was allocated to miners, eclipsing the former high of $7.21 million established on May 8, 2023.

Miners Rake in Record Fees From Ordinals; Inscriptions Fuel 61% of Bitcoin Transactions

Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions are nearing the significant milestone of 50 million, with around 48,754,694 marked on the blockchain at this moment. As of December 16, 2023, a record-breaking amount was remunerated to miners for Ordinal inscriptions in a single day. Data indicates that on this Saturday, miners received over 235 $BTC, marking it the third-highest day in terms of $BTC volume, according to Dune Analytics metrics.

Ordinal fees paid to miners in U.S. dollar value, according to Dune Analytics.

Yet, this day stood out as the most substantial in the U.S. dollar value of these fees, with miners earning $9.97 million in the 24-hour timeframe. This surpasses the prior peak on May 8, 2023, when miners were compensated $7.21 million for inscription confirmations. On that particular day, miners were rewarded with more than 257 $BTC for verifying inscriptions. The higher miner earnings on this recent Saturday can be attributed to the increased value of $BTC.

On May 8, 2023, $BTC’s closing price was at $27,668 per unit, whereas on December 17, its 24-hour price fluctuated between $41,668 and $42,666. From the 48.75 million inscriptions created since December 16, 2022, miners have garnered over 4,084 $BTC, equivalent to $170.68 million, for confirming these transactions. On that same day, bitcoin miners processed 638,144 transactions, with 392,574 being inscription-related. This indicates that inscriptions drove 61.51% of all $BTC transactions that day.

What do you think about the record fees bitcoin miners collected on Saturday? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.