On August 22, Bitcoin transaction fees experienced a significant spike, reaching levels not seen since June 7, 2024, when the average fee was $83. By the evening, on-chain fees soared past $105 per transaction, translating to over 1,250 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). This surge in fees led to substantial financial gains for Bitcoin miners.
Block 857,911, mined by Antpool, was particularly lucrative, delivering a total payout of 18.67 BTC, comprising a 3.125 BTC subsidy and 15.55 BTC in transaction fees, amounting to $1.12 million. This windfall came as a result of the high fees that were prevalent at the time.
Foundry, another major mining pool, also saw considerable benefits. Block 857,912 yielded 15.283 BTC in total, including 12.158 BTC in fees, which equates to $923,733. Block 857,910 earned Antpool 9.51 BTC in fees, and block 857,913 added 8.08 BTC in fees for the pool. Blocks 857,914 through 857,918 each recorded fees exceeding 1.33 BTC.
Other mining pools, including Viabtc, F2pool, and MARA Pool, also benefited from the high transaction fees. The surge in fees was notably dramatic, with values surpassing the 1 BTC mark being 28.2 times higher than those recorded earlier in the day.
Following block 857,918, Luxor collected 0.98 BTC, while Binance Pool secured 1.096 BTC in fees from block 857,923. Data from August 21 at 10 p.m. EDT to August 22 at 4 p.m. EDT shows that the daily hashprice increased from $44 to $53 per petahash per second (PH/s), providing a brief relief to miners facing a tough market. However, the elevated fee levels have since subsided, returning to their previous rates before the spike.
