Bitcoin miners enjoyed a 7% increase in revenue during July, driven by higher network fees and increased transaction volume as bitcoin (BTC) rallied to new yearly highs above $11,400.
- BTC miners generated an estimated $300 million in revenue in July, up from $281 million in June, and the first monthly increase in miner revenue since April, according to Coin Metrics data analyzed by CoinDesk.
- Revenue estimates assume miners sell their BTC immediately.
- Fees generated $25 million in July, eclipsing the previous 12-month high of 8.3% fee revenue in May.
- Increased network fees and mempool size contributed to mining revenue increases. Bitcoin’s mempool, a sort of holding depot for verified transactions that need to be included in new blocks by miners, grew 11,000% since July 1.
- Correspondingly, average daily fees increased 300% from the end of June, according to Coin Metrics data.
- July’s revenue increase coincided with rallies of publicly traded mining companies.
- Riot Blockchain gained 10% in July, closing the month at $2.62.
- Even troubled Beijing-based miner manufacturer Canaan Inc. managed to gain 34% in the month, closing at $2.50.