ViaBTC's 'epic sat' from fourth Bitcoin halving block sells for 33.3 BTC ($2.13 million)

On April 25, the crypto mining pool ViaBTC sold "Sat 1,968,750,000,000,000" for 33.3 BTC, valued at $2.13 million, on the crypto exchange CoinEx Global.

"CoinEx's partner, the ViaBTC mining pool, has officially mined the 840,000th block. This milestone not only signifies Bitcoin's fourth halving but also includes a block identified as an epic 'Rare Satoshi' by the Ordinals numbering system," CoinEx Global wrote on the satoshi's auction page, adding on social media, "This auction isn't just a bidding event; it marked the community recognition, media attention and widespread embrace of Bitcoin."

'Epic sat' auction

ViaBTC mined the 840,000th Bitcoin mining block at 00:09 UTC on April 20 (around 8:00 p.m. ET on April 19), ushering in a new Bitcoin mining epoch. At the time, ViaBTC received 3.125 in mining rewards as well as 37.6256 BTC ($2,401,399) in reward fees. 

ViaBTC then set the rare satoshi for auction on CoinEx starting at 1 BTC. "The general public has a keen interest in collecting valuable items," according to the auction page. "Given that satoshis are assigned unique identifiers, they inherently possess higher collectible value. As periodic events occur within the Bitcoin network, some more frequently than others, scarcity is naturally promoted."

A satoshi is the smallest unit of Bitcoin. The first satoshi mined in the first Bitcoin block following a halving is incredibly rare, as only four exist. The Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, which assigns metadata to Bitcoin satoshis, made these "epic sats" collectible and thus highly valuable, The Block previously reported. 

The fourth Bitcoin halving reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The next Bitcoin halving event is expected to occur around April 17, 2028, according to The Block's Bitcoin Halving Countdown. With this halving comes the fifth "epic sat" associated with the first subsequent block as mining rewards fall to 1.56 BTC.