Halving is a highly anticipated phenomenon in the cryptocurrency industry as it is usually followed by a strong period of price growth. This time, miners are also looking for very special bitcoins.
Bitcoin halving hasn’t started yet, but miners are in the starting blocks. Halving, an operation that takes place every four years and marks the moment when the rewards given to miners are divided by two, is approaching: it must take place on April 19.
The event is eagerly awaited by the entire cryptocurrency industry as it is generally synonymous with strong growth – although opinions on this point are increasingly divided. For Bitcoin miners, the situation is different: halving is synonymous with loss of income. But this time, the halving is also an opportunity for them to gain access to very special bitcoins that could allow them to make a fortune.
All miners want satoshi from the first block
The April 2024 halving will take place on the 840,000th block of the blockchain: once the 839,999th block is mined, rewards will be halved. For miners, this means that the reward they receive for each mined block will increase from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins. Such a drop in income may seem sudden and not very attractive to miners. However, everyone is trying to be the first to mine the 840,000th block because the bitcoins it will generate will be collectors.
In fact, each bitcoin is divided into 100 million satoshis, which act like pennies. It was possible to enter data into these “sats” as early as 2021, but from January 2023 and the arrival of the Ordinal protocol, it is also possible to categorize their rarity. These satoshis have become the Bitcoin blockchain’s NFT of sorts: they are unique, dated, can contain images and information, and can be exchanged.
Each Satoshi is marked with a time stamp, that is, its creation date is indicated, so it is possible to find a Satoshi with a certain meaning. These satoshis sometimes sell for a high price, at prices much higher than what 100 million bitcoins are worth: a 2009 satoshi sold for $165,100. Since the upcoming halving is the first since the beginning of the Ordinal protocol, the Satoshis contained in the first mined block could sell for a very high price.
An industry observer cited by CoinDesk estimates that the very first satoshi from the very first block could be worth $1 million — an absurd number for an object representing 0.00000001 bitcoin (which should be equivalent to 0.00060 euros, depending on the current price). CoinDesk suggests that in order to maximize their chances of getting that famous satoshi, they mine farms ” could expand their operations to ensure they represent a high percentage of the world’s hashrate just before the halving. »
This satoshi hunt will have a very significant impact on the mining farm that wins it. As their rewards increase from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins, farms will face significant drops in income: at the current rate, this represents a drop of more than 400,000 to 200,000 euros. A shortage that could be compensated by selling this famous satoshi.