Bitcoin miners generated over $2 billion in revenue in March, setting a new record high. This surpasses the previous peak of $1.7 billion in May 2021, according to data from The Block analytics.
The earnings of miners include rewards for mining blocks and transaction fees on the Bitcoin network. In March, transaction fees contributed $85.8 million to the total revenue, marking a new monthly record.
The mining pool Foundry USA led the way by mining 1,312 blocks, accounting for 29.74% of the total network blocks. Antpool, Viabtc, F2pool, and Binance Pool followed in the rankings.
Despite the upcoming halving of the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC in April, daily commission volumes have returned to around $2 million with no significant changes in the early days of the month.
Experts at Galaxy Digital predict that 15%-20% of the Bitcoin network’s total computing power will become unprofitable after the halving. Miners are expected to shut down less efficient equipment, keeping only the most profitable operations running.
There is also a trend of outdated Bitcoin mining equipment being relocated from the United States to regions with lower energy costs, such as Africa. Buyers are holding off on purchasing mining equipment until after the halving, expecting lower prices. In March 2022, used S19s were priced around $7,000, but have since dropped to $427.