A bitcoin block just neared a 2015 transaction record, but paid only $180 in fees

AntPool mined a Bitcoin block that came within 984 transactions of the network’s 2015 record for transaction count, yet generated only about $180 in fees—less than 0.1% of the miner’s total payout. The near-record throughput shows blockspace demand can spike without a corresponding rise in fee revenue, underscoring how cheap transactions have become relative to past congestion episodes. The result matters for miners because subsidy-dependent revenue leaves them more exposed to bitcoin price swings when fee income stays negligible. Watch whether sustained high transaction counts eventually translate into meaningful fee pressure, or whether low fees persist as a structural feature of current block demand.