On April 20, 2024, Bitcoin mining pool ViaBTC mined the fourth epic sat of all time, the same day that Bitcoin finished its fourth reward halving. A few days later, ViaBTC partnered with CoinEx to auction the epic sat via the global exchange platform. But what exactly is an epic sat? Why is it so precious to crypto enthusiasts? Here's everything you need to know.
What is a Sat?
Before we go through what an epic sat is, we need to explain what a sat is first. Sat is an abbreviation of "satoshi," the smallest possible part of Bitcoin. It's one hundred millionth of a single BTC in terms of price or amount. This means one satoshi is equivalent to 0.00000001 BTC.
According to the Ordinals numbering system, satoshis are ranked into different categories based on their rarity levels. The 6 levels include:
- Common Satoshi: A satoshi that is not the first satoshi of its block.
- Uncommon Satoshi: The first satoshi of each block mined.
- Rare Satoshi: The first satoshi of the difficulty adjustment period.
- Epic Satoshi: The first satoshi of each halving epoch.
- Legendary Satoshi: The initial satoshi of each cycle.
- Mythic Satoshi: The initial satoshi of the genesis block.
What is an Epic Sat?
An epic sat is the first satoshi of the halving block ever mined. In simple words, whenever BTC halving occurs, the mined block that caused the BTC halving contains an epic sat.
At the time of the fourth Bitcoin halving, the block number 840,000 was ranked as the halving block by Ordinals. This block was mined by ViaBTC at around 8:09 AM on the morning of April 20, 2024. Epic sat is the first satoshi of this block, which is why it's known as the fourth epic sat of all time.
Just like every mined block has its block number, a satoshi also has its unique serial number, as trillions of satoshis have been mined so far. The serial number of the fourth epic sat is 1,968,750,000,000,000.
CoinEx Hosts Epic Sat Auction
Just as Bitcoin halving is a historical event, epic sats also have historical significance. People love to collect these satoshis in exchange for Bitcoins. In this regard, CoinEx took the lead to partner with ViaBTC, which holds this epic sat for an official auction for those who want to collect the epic satoshi of all time.
The auction started at a minimum price of 1 BTC. The highest bid stands at 3 BTC at the press time. The auctioned epic sats can be collected as well as sold or transferred to others via different channels in the future. This is also one of the reasons why people pay several Bitcoins for a single satoshi, which has an actual value equivalent to just a hundred-millionth part of a BTC.
With this halving, the new reward to mine a single block of Bitcoin has now been halved to 3.125 from 6.25 previously. After every four years, this block reward gets halved. The next (or fifth) halving would occur in 2028.
If you're interested in trading cryptocurrencies, the best place to get outstanding volatility and prices is CoinEx.
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