Key Points
- ViaBTC, a Bitcoin mining pool, is auctioning a unique satoshi, termed as "epic sat", mined from Bitcoin's fourth halving block.
- The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol allows the creation of unique tradeable assets using satoshis, Bitcoin's smallest units.
ViaBTC, a notable mining pool of Bitcoin, has announced the auction of a unique satoshi, or "epic sat", that was mined during Bitcoin's recent fourth halving block.
The mining pool has set aside 40.75 BTC (approximately $2.6 million) as rewards for this event.
The Auction and the "Epic Sat"
ViaBTC made the announcement about the auction on its official X account.
The auction is being conducted in partnership with CoinEx Global, a cryptocurrency exchange.
The bidding starts from 1 BTC and will conclude on April 25.
The "epic sat" is a term used to denote the first satoshi mined in the first block of each halving epoch, due to its potential collectible value.
The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, established in January 2023, allows the storage and trading of digital content on Bitcoin.
This protocol uses satoshis to inscribe NFTs, BRC-20s (comparable to Ethereum's ERC-20s), and other data directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, making each piece a unique tradeable asset.
Bitcoin's Halving Block and the Auction's Significance
ViaBTC, one of the leading Bitcoin mining pools, mined the halving block 840,000, reducing miners' block subsidy rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
In addition to the subsidy reward, ViaBTC also gathered 37.63 BTC ($2.4 million) in transaction fee rewards for the block.
This made it the most valuable block in Bitcoin's history in U.S. dollar terms, except for a block containing an accidental $3.1 million fee in November 2023.
However, there is some confusion regarding the distribution of the block rewards.
Typically, rewards are distributed among a pool's members based on their hash rate soon after mining a block.
But after mining the halving block, ViaBTC transferred the total 40.75 BTC ($2.6 million) in rewards to a new address, where it currently remains.
ViaBTC has not yet clarified how it plans to distribute the funds after the epic sat auction.
