An “epic sat,” an extremely rare satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin) from the network’s fourth halving block, was recently sold for over $2 million.
On April 25, the crypto mining pool ViaBTC successfully auctioned off “Sat 1,968,750,000,000,000” for 33.3 BTC, approximately $2.13 million, on the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx Global.
ViaBTC’s Rare Satoshi Auctioned
CoinEx Global announced that its partner, the ViaBTC mining pool, successfully mined the 840,000th block. This milestone marked Bitcoin’s fourth halving and featured a block identified as an epic “Rare Satoshi.”
According to CoinEx, this event was not just a bidding event but part of Bitcoin’s blockchain history, showing the community’s acknowledgment, media coverage, and wider acceptance of the asset and the network.
The auction has concluded successfully, with the FIRST & ONLY epic sat selling for 33.3 $BTC (≈$2,134,000). This auction isn’t just a bidding event; it marked the community recognition, media attention, & widespread embrace of #Bitcoin. A heartfelt thanks to all who support us. pic.twitter.com/fCFz1YrH0I
— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) April 25, 2024
This satoshi, known as an “epic sat,” garnered a lot of interest, with 34 bids before an unidentified bidder secured ownership rights to the epic sat. The runner-up bidder made an offer of 20 Bitcoin for the rare sat but was outbid in the auction.
The Bitcoin network currently has 100 million satoshis (sats), with each worth around $0.00065. However, some sats are considered more special within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Only four of the first satoshis mined after a Bitcoin halving event are considered exceptionally rare and valuable. The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, which assigns metadata to satoshis, has made these “epic sats” collectible, resulting in them being highly sought after.
Bitcoin Struggles Following Fourth Halving
The fourth Bitcoin halving event on April 20 reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. In addition to receiving 3.125 BTC in mining rewards, ViaBTC also earned 37.6256 BTC in reward fees, amounting to approximately $2,401,399.
Meanwhile, bitcoin’s price has been struggling post-halving. On Thursday morning, it dropped below $64,000. This price decline followed the liquidation of over $209 million in crypto-long positions as the market dipped overnight, with around $52 million in bitcoin-long positions getting wrecked. Comparatively, BTC had climbed as high as $73K before halving.
However, the top crypto by market cap has since seen some recovery. CoinGecko data shows Bitcoin is currently trading at around $64,386, up 0.2% over the last day.
Meanwhile, the next Bitcoin halving is projected to take place around April 17, 2028. With this one, the fifth “epic sat” will be associated with the first subsequent block, as mining rewards decrease to 1.56 BTC.
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