Published on 21 Apr 2024 on CoinDesk via Yahoo Finance
Bitcoin Miners Reap Windfall as 'Runes' Debut Sends Transaction Fees to Record Highs
Bitcoin's once-every-four-years "halving," which took place late last week, was supposed to bring a steep cut in revenue for crypto miners, since their rewards for new data blocks would drop by 50%.
Instead, the simultaneous launch of Casey Rodarmor's new Runes protocol – for minting digital tokens on top of the oldest and largest blockchain – has proven so popular that it's caused massive network congestion, sending transaction fees to record levels and showering Bitcoin miners with a windfall like never before.