Bitcoin mining companies generated the highest monthly revenue in their history in March, with more than $2 billion in block rewards and transaction fees.
The previous record, set in May 2021, stands at $1.74 billion.
About $85 million of the $2 billion in revenue last month came from transaction fees, whereas $1.93 billion was derived from block grants, according to Bitcoin magazine.
Currently, 6.25 bitcoins are the block subsidy paid to each block that has been mined. After the next halving in April, however, it will be reduced to 3.125 bitcoins. This will cut miner revenue from new bitcoin creation in half unless there is a significant price rise.
Higher network activity and increasing bitcoin prices both contributed to miners’ bumper revenues in March. The upcoming halving created urgency for miners to maximize earnings before profits are squeezed.
The leading US mining pool, Foundry, captured 29.4% of all blocks mined in March. Chinese pool AntPool took second place with 22.4% of blocks. The two captured over half the monthly Bitcoin supply.
While miners enjoyed their profit stroke last month, exchange-traded funds purchasing bitcoins on the open market stockpiled even more. ETFs bought roughly 66,000 bitcoins in March, while miners only produced around 25,500.
Miners face an increasingly harsh environment if Bitcoin’s price fails to compensate for the drop in issuance. But if history repeats itself, a strong Bitcoin bull run could still be on the horizon, with the halving cutting rewards in half in a few weeks, softening the revenue shock of reduced block subsidies.
