Bitcoin (BTC) mining revenue increased by 48% in November as the leading cryptocurrency’s price touched a new all-time high
Bitcoin miners enjoyed a fruitful month in November as the price of the leading cryptocurrency surged to a new all-time high. According to CoinDesk’s on-chain data analysis, Bitcoin miners made an estimated $522 million in revenue last month, representing a 48% increase from the previous month.
The surge in revenue came as Bitcoin set a new all-time high price of $19,900 last month after gaining 40% during the month. The revenue estimate is generated assuming miners sell their BTC after mining them.
CoinDesk measured the miner revenue using terahash (TH), the unit measurement for the speed of cryptocurrency mining hardware. According to the estimate, miners’ revenue hit a six-month high last month after the miners earned over half a billion dollars.
Data obtained from Luxor Technologies showed that the revenue per terahash hit $0.15 numerous times last month, making it the highest level since May 2020. Miners’ revenue has fluctuated this year due to the price volatility of the cryptocurrency. However, the mining revenue measured by terahash per second (TH/s) year-to-date remains flat. In January, miners were earning $0.138 per TH/s, and they are currently earning $0.135 per TH/s.
The spike in BTC price led to an increase in network activity. However, network fees were down from 12.2% in October to 11% of total revenue in November. Miners earned $54.9 million in network fees last month.
The decline in network fees last month came after a two-year high was set in October. Overall, miners recorded an average of $3 per transaction fee towards the end of November, below the $13 per transaction earned at the start of last month.
An increase in fees helps to sustain the network
Despite the decline in network fees last month, fees as a percentage of total revenue have been rising since April. The mining reward halving has helped push network fees higher as it is needed to sustain the blockchain security and incentivise the miners.
As the mining reward decreases every four years, miners need to earn enough to participate and keep the network secure. Hence, the reason why the network fees need to increase as mining reward decreases.
Bitcoin’s price rally might extend for a few more weeks or months. Some analysts are already predicting BTC’s price to surpass the $20,000 mark over the coming weeks.