Halving is a highly anticipated phenomenon by the cryptocurrency industry, as it is normally followed by a strong period of price increase. This time, miners are also on the lookout for very special bitcoins.
The bitcoin halving has not yet started, but miners are in the starting blocks. The halving, the operation which takes place every four years and which designates the moment when the rewards granted 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, because it is generally synonymous with strong growth – even if opinions on this point diverge more and more. 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 have access to very special bitcoins, which could allow them to make a fortune.
All miners want Satoshis 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, the rewards will be halved. For miners, this means that the reward they receive for each block mined will increase from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins. Such a loss of income may seem abrupt and not very attractive for 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 Satoshi, which work like pennies. It was already possible to enter data in these “sats” since 2021, but since January 2023 and the arrival of the Ordinal protocol, it is also possible to categorize their rarity. These Satoshis have become, in a way, the NFTs of the bitcoin blockchain: they are unique, dated, can contain images and information, and can be exchanged.
Each Satoshi being timestamped, that is to say its date of creation is indicated, it is therefore possible to find Satoshis with a particular meaning. These Satoshis are sometimes sold at a high price, at rates much higher than what a 100 millionth of a bitcoin is worth: a Satoshi from 2009 was sold for $165,100. Given that the upcoming halving is the first since the start 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 Satoshis of the very first block could be worth $1 million — an absurd figure for an object representing 0.00000001 bitcoin (which should correspond to 0.00060 euros, depending on the price). current). CoinDesk indicates that to maximize their chances of having this famous Satoshis, mining farms “ could scale up their operations to ensure they represent a high percentage of the hashrate [la puissance de calcul, ndlr] world, just before the halving occurs. »
This Satoshi hunt will have a very significant impact on the mining farm that wins it. Given that their rewards will increase from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins, farms will face significant drops in revenue: at the current rate, this represents a drop of more than 400,000 to 200,000 euros. A shortfall which could be compensated by the sale of this famous Satoshi.
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