Key Highlights:
- AntPool mined block 974,961 containing 11,255 transactions, ranking as the second-busiest block in Bitcoin network history.
- Despite the massive volume of transactions, total transaction fees amounted to only 240,533 satoshis—roughly $180 at current prices.
- The block’s low fee total was driven by batches of lightweight, 80-byte transactions paying as little as a single satoshi with small data outputs.
AntPool Records Massive Transaction Volume in Block 974,961
Major cryptocurrency mining pool AntPool has processed the second-largest transaction volume ever recorded in a single Bitcoin block. On Saturday, AntPool successfully mined block 974,961, packing 11,255 distinct transactions into the network ledger, according to data from mempool.space. This transaction load stands just 984 transactions shy of the all-time record set on August 1, 2015, when rival mining pool F2Pool crammed 12,239 transactions into block 367,853.
Despite the historic throughput, the economic compensation generated by the transaction fees was remarkably low. The thousands of transactions within the block combined to pay just 240,533 satoshis in network fees. With a satoshi defined as one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin, the fee total translated to approximately $180 based on Sunday’s Bitcoin market price hovering near $75,800. Consequently, AntPool’s overall reward for mining the block reached around $237,000, with nearly the entirety of the payout coming directly from the network’s fixed block subsidy of 3.125 BTC.
Consecutive High-Volume, Low-Fee Blocks Signal Changing Patterns
Block 974,961 was not an isolated event on the Bitcoin blockchain. Just days earlier, on November 4, AntPool mined another extraordinarily dense block—block 974,557—which carried 10,573 transactions. That block generated even less revenue for the mining pool from transaction fees, yielding around $110.
The discrepancy between transaction quantity and mining fee yield is rooted in the architecture of Bitcoin’s fee market. On the Bitcoin network, participants bid for scarce block space by submitting fee rates measured in satoshis per virtual byte (vB), the metric utilized to quantify the data footprint of a transaction. For Saturday’s block, mempool.space data rounded the median fee rate down to zero. A CoinDesk sample of transactions located in the middle of block 974,961 revealed an extended sequence of lightweight 80-byte transactions, each offering a payment of merely one satoshi and containing a small data output.
Why This Matters
These ultra-dense, low-fee blocks demonstrate how the composition of Bitcoin transactions directly dictates miner revenue. Following the April 2024 halving, which slashed the programmed block subsidy to 3.125 BTC, the long-term economic model of Bitcoin security relies increasingly on users competing for block space and driving transaction fees higher. However, when demand consists primarily of minimal-weight data scripts or non-financial micro-transactions submitted during quiet periods on the mempool, thousands of operations can clear the queue without creating significant fee pressure for miners.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the record for the most transactions in a single Bitcoin block?
The all-time record belongs to block 367,853, which was mined by F2Pool on August 1, 2015, containing 12,239 transactions.
Why were the fees for block 974,961 so low despite having over 11,000 transactions?
Bitcoin network transaction fees are determined by the data size of a transaction in virtual bytes rather than the overall count of transactions. Saturday’s block contained an extensive run of tiny 80-byte transactions that each paid only one single satoshi, allowing thousands of entries to fit without paying meaningful fees.
How much did AntPool earn from mining the block?
AntPool earned a total payout of approximately $237,000 for block 974,961. The vast majority of this amount came from the fixed 3.125 BTC block subsidy minted by the network, while transaction fees contributed only about $180.
