About block 971,997
Bitcoin block 971,997 was mined by Foundry USA on October 18, 2026 at 1:03 PM UTC, 59 seconds after block 971,996. That is faster than the 10-minute average the network aims for: blocks come in bursts because finding one is pure chance.
It confirmed 5,233 transactions in 2.00 MB (99.8% of the 4 million weight-unit limit). The median transaction paid 0.28 sat/vB, down from 1.00 sat/vB in the block before, and all fees added up to 0.0040 BTC. With the 3.125 BTC subsidy of halving era 5, Foundry USA earned 3.1290 BTC for this block.
Block 971,997 is number 286 of 2,016 in difficulty epoch 482; 1,730 blocks remain until the next difficulty adjustment at block 973,727. The next halving is at block 1,050,000, 78,003 blocks after this one.
Its hash starts with 19 zeros: that is the proof of work, a number below the target that the whole network’s hashrate had to search for. Foundry USA found 238 blocks in the week before. Today the block has 12 confirmations, so it is settled beyond any practical doubt.