Bitcoin (BTC) miners have earned over $70 billion since the Bitcoin network was created.
As calculated by onchain analytics resource Glassnode in an analysis released on Dec. 11, Bitcoin users have paid miners $71.49 billion.
Miner revenue reflects “tremendous” security value
Bitcoin at $100,000 is a lucrative opportunity for miners, but looking back over the industry’s history, surprising figures stand out.
Despite earning tens of billions of dollars in processing transactions, miner revenue accounts for a tiny fraction of the Bitcoin market cap.
“Through 5 December, miners have earned a cumulative $71.49 Billion for their computational efforts, with block rewards valued on the day the block was mined. This revenue comprises $67.31 billion in block subsidy via the minting of new coins and $4.18 billion in transaction fees paid by users,” Glassnode summarized in the latest edition of its weekly newsletter, “The Week Onchain.”
“This represents just 3.57% of Bitcoin’s $2 Trillion market cap peak, arguably reflecting a tremendous return on the input security budget.”
Bitcoin miner revenue breakdown (screenshot). Source: Glassnode
An accompanying chart additionally reflects how relatively small miner revenue from transaction fees really is. Of the $71.49 billion total, fees have accounted for just $4.18 billion.
Total BTC transactions to date, excluding internal transfers by exchanges or institutional investment products, come to around 840 million.
“Measuring the dollar value of these transactions at the time of confirmation, the Bitcoin network has cumulatively processed $131.25 Trillion in volume,” Glassnode continued.
“After applying entity adjustment, the filtered transfer volume stands at $11.63 trillion, just 8.86% of the total.”
Bitcoin transaction count analysis (screenshot). Source: Glassnode
Bitcoin mining firms soldier on
As Cointelegraph reported, public Bitcoin miners have gone from strength to strength in a year when Bitcoin broke out to hit repeated new all-time highs.
Related: Bitcoin analysis: Start selling BTC when this key metric hits 4%
Hut 8 saw its share price jump 8% when it announced a share buyback program to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve, while a two-month BTC acquisition by fellow miner MARA Holdings to the start of December totaled $600 million.
Concluding its overview, Glassnode noted that the Bitcoin network hashrate remains near all-time highs.
“With hashrate near all-time highs and a highly distributed holder base, Bitcoin is well positioned for its increasingly important role on the world stage,” it wrote.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.