2024

Rune

Bitcoin

April

when

<div class="finbold">
 <p class="paragraph">On April 20, 2024, the Bitcoin (BTC) network marked a significant milestone when block 840,000 was mined at 12:09 am UTC. This block, crucial to the fourth-ever Bitcoin halving, set a new record for the highest fees ever recorded in the maiden cryptocurrency’s history.</p>
 <p class="paragraph">The historic block saw a total of 37.62 BTC ($2,402,358) in transaction fees alone, with the highest individual transaction fee reaching 3,604,819 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). Including the miner’s subsidy of 3.125 BTC, the total payout to the mining pool ViaBTC for this single block amounted to 40.7 BTC, roughly $2.6 million.&nbsp;</p>
 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="315" src="https://cdn.thebittimes.com/images/2024/04/20/b0ffed8bba6f2cf7d1659551793d9fdb.webp" alt class="wp-image-170401" srcset="https://cdn.thebittimes.com/images/2024/04/20/b0ffed8bba6f2cf7d1659551793d9fdb.webp 1024w, https://cdn.thebittimes.com/images/2024/04/20/b0ffed8bba6f2cf7d1659551793d9fdb.webp 300w, https://cdn.thebittimes.com/images/2024/04/20/b0ffed8bba6f2cf7d1659551793d9fdb.webp 768w, https://cdn.thebittimes.com/images/2024/04/20/b0ffed8bba6f2cf7d1659551793d9fdb.webp 1412w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
  <figcaption class="wp-element-caption">
   Total payout for block 840000.Source:&nbsp;<em>mempool.space</em>
  </figcaption>
 </figure>
 <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-catalyst-for-the-fee-surge-runes-protocol-launch">Catalyst for the Fee Surge: Runes Protocol Launch</h2>
 <p class="paragraph">The surge in transaction fees coincided with the launch of the Runes Protocol, which also contributed to the fees soaring above $100 for the first time.&nbsp;</p>
 <div class="border border-red-300 rounded-xl p-6 not-prose mb-6">
  <h3 class="text-2xl font-black mt-0 flex gap-x-3 mb-5">
   <svg width="32" height="32" viewbox="0 0 32 32" fill="none" xmlns="//www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M4 10.6665V25.3332C4 28.2678 6.392 29.3332 8 29.3332H28V26.6665H8.016C7.4 26.6505 6.66667 26.4078 6.66667 25.3332C6.66667 24.2585 7.4 24.0158 8.016 23.9998H28V5.33317C28 3.8625 26.804 2.6665 25.3333 2.6665H8C6.392 2.6665 4 3.73184 4 6.6665V10.6665ZM8 5.33317H25.3333V21.3332H6.66667V6.6665C6.66667 5.59184 7.4 5.34917 8 5.33317Z" fill="#EF4444"> 
    </path> <path d="M15.996 18.6668L20.4626 14.2815C20.738 14.0166 20.9571 13.6989 21.1068 13.3473C21.2564 12.9957 21.3336 12.6176 21.3336 12.2355C21.3336 11.8534 21.2564 11.4752 21.1068 11.1236C20.9571 10.7721 20.738 10.4543 20.4626 10.1895C19.9074 9.64148 19.1587 9.33422 18.3786 9.33422C17.5985 9.33422 16.8498 9.64148 16.2946 10.1895L15.996 10.4801L15.6973 10.1881C15.1423 9.64023 14.3938 9.33301 13.614 9.33301C12.8341 9.33301 12.0856 9.64023 11.5306 10.1881C11.2552 10.453 11.0361 10.7707 10.8865 11.1223C10.7368 11.4739 10.6597 11.852 10.6597 12.2341C10.6597 12.6162 10.7368 12.9944 10.8865 13.346C11.0361 13.6975 11.2552 14.0153 11.5306 14.2801L15.996 18.6668Z" fill="#EF4444"> 
    </path>
   </svg> Picks for you</h3>
  <div class="grid md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-10 gap-y-3 md:gap-y-5 divide-y divide-gray-300 md:divide-y-0">
   <div class="md:odd:pr-4 md:odd:border-r odd:border-gray-300 pt-3 first:pt-0 md:pt-0">
    Here's why you should closely watch these 3 cryptocurrencies <span class="self-center text-xs text-slate-500">4 mins ago</span>
   </div>
   <div class="md:odd:pr-4 md:odd:border-r odd:border-gray-300 pt-3 first:pt-0 md:pt-0">
    Bitcoin fees above $100 for the first time; Sell-off incoming? <span class="self-center text-xs text-slate-500">2 hours ago</span>
   </div>
   <div class="md:odd:pr-4 md:odd:border-r odd:border-gray-300 pt-3 first:pt-0 md:pt-0">
    Tether launches USDT and tokenized gold on Telegram’s Ton Network <span class="self-center text-xs text-slate-500">2 hours ago</span>
   </div>
   <div class="md:odd:pr-4 md:odd:border-r odd:border-gray-300 pt-3 first:pt-0 md:pt-0">
    Congressman discloses Bitcoin purchase a day before the halving <span class="self-center text-xs text-slate-500">19 hours ago</span>
   </div>
  </div>
 </div>
 <div class="mb-4 bg-slate-50 rounded-md layout-adjustment">
  <div id="finbold.com_middle" style="min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px;">
  </div>
 </div>
 <p class="paragraph">This led to intense competition among users to inscribe and secure rare satoshis on this significant block, driving fees to historic heights.</p>
 <p class="paragraph">Popular Bitcoin market analyst Dylan LeClair has pointed out the significant role that the Runes Protocol played in the astronomical surge in fees during the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="halving" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/halving.html">halving</a> event.</p>
 <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
  <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
    <p lang="en" dir="ltr">#Bitcoin fees are so crazy because of a new token protocol that went live on block 840,000 that uses Op_Return called Runes.<br><br>It is pure degenerate speculation- there is nothing being promised nor any utility other speculation.<br><br>Miners will churn through it eventually. pic.twitter.com/Fw3plYN5Ee</p>— Dylan LeClair (@DylanLeClair_) April 20, 2024
   </blockquote>
  </div>
 </figure>
 <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="sustained-high-fees-and-network-congestion">Sustained High Fees and Network Congestion</h2>
 <p class="paragraph">In the aftermath of the halving and the launch of the Runes Protocol, the Bitcoin network experienced severe congestion, with the minimum transaction fee escalating to over 1,050 sat/vb (approximately $94).&nbsp;</p>
 <p class="paragraph">This spike in fees coincided with a backlog of over 237,000 pending transactions and memory usage that exceeded 300 MB, peaking at 1.15 GB.&nbsp;</p>
 <p class="paragraph">Furthermore, in the nine blocks following the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="halving" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/halving.html">halving</a>, Runes minters paid nearly 78.6 BTC in fees (about $4.95 <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="million" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/million.html">million</a>) to acquire rare tokens.&nbsp;</p>
 <p class="paragraph">This trend continued with several subsequent blocks also generating over a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="million" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/million.html">million</a> dollars in fees, underscoring the lasting impact of the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="halving" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/halving.html">halving</a> and Runes Protocol on the network’s fee economy.</p>
 <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
  <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
    <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Almost $1M in txn fees to miners on every Bitcoin block since the halving. <br><br>Wild. https://t.co/acKVRyB3r2</p>— Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) April 20, 2024
   </blockquote>
  </div>
 </figure>
 <p class="paragraph">According to the Rune explorer, about 1,726 Runes had been “etched” – the term given for their creation on the chain – at press time. Total transactions were approaching 259,651, with millions collected in fees.</p>
 <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="understanding-the-runes-protocol">Understanding the Runes Protocol</h2>
 <p class="paragraph">Runes is a token standard introduced on the Bitcoin blockchain. It is designed to facilitate the creation of fungible tokens in a more efficient and user-friendly manner.&nbsp;</p>
 <p class="paragraph">This standard was introduced by Casey Rodarmor, who is also known for his work on Bitcoin Ordinals. This new protocol facilitates token creation on Bitcoin’s blockchain using an innovative Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model, moving away from the traditional BRC-20 standard. By allowing users to “etch” tokens directly onto the blockchain</p>
 <p class="paragraph">The introduction of Runes could potentially attract more users and developers to explore and expand upon Bitcoin’s utility, paving the way for innovative uses that could go beyond traditional financial transactions.</p>
 <p class="paragraph"><strong><em>Disclaimer:</em></strong><em>&nbsp;The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.</em></p>
</div>
<p>Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://thebittimes.com/bitcoin-halving-racks-up-record-2-4-million-fees-as-runes-protocol-launches-tbt85870.html">https://thebittimes.com/bitcoin-halving-racks-up-record-2-4-million-fees-as-runes-protocol-launches-tbt85870.html</a></p>

Bitcoin halving racks up record $2.4 million fees as Runes Protocol launches

Table of Contents

TheBitTimes

Other articles published on Apr 20, 2024

Binance Faces Tax Evasion Charges in Nigeria

Bitcoin Halving Complete, BTC Enters Recovery Phase, Bullish Times Ahead

RACE Protocol Seeks to Lower Entry Barriers for Blockchain Game Developers

Scientist Doge (SCDOGE) to Rally 6,000%, Will it Match SHIB and DOGE?

U.S.-Nigeria AI Partnership Set to Boost Economic Development

Shiba Inu Altcoin Gains Attention with Increased Token Burn Rate

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!