In an extraordinary display of volatility, Bitcoin transaction fees plummeted from an all-time high of $128 to between $8 and $10 just one day after the cryptocurrency’s fourth halving event on April 20. This dramatic shift highlights the unpredictable nature of Bitcoin fees, which spiked during one of the most significant days in Bitcoin’s recent history.
On halving day, Bitcoin users paid a staggering total of $78.3 million in fees, significantly outpacing Ethereum’s fee generation by over 24 times. This peak fee day coincided with the mining of the halving block at block height 840,000, where 37.7 Bitcoin ($2.4 million) were paid to the miner ViaBTC, marking this block as the most coveted in the network’s 15-year history. The frenzy around this block was primarily driven by memecoin and nonfungible token enthusiasts using the Runes protocol, a new token standard initiated at the halving.
The average cost per transaction in the famed block was nearly $800, involving a total of 3050 transactions. Although fees remained high up to block 840,200, they have since moderated to more typical levels of about 1-2 Bitcoin per block. The initial surge in fees helped cushion miners from the impact of the halving, which reduced the block subsidy from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin.
Despite this fee frenzy, Bitcoin has consistently outperformed Ethereum in terms of fee generation for six consecutive days leading up to the halving, with a weekly fee average reaching $17.8 million. Interestingly, the halving event itself did not significantly impact Bitcoin’s price, which saw a modest increase of 1.5% to $64,840 post-event, according to data from CoinGecko.
This recent episode serves as a reminder of the significant fluctuations that can occur in the cryptocurrency market, particularly around milestone events like the halving that dramatically reshape mining economics and transaction dynamics.