About block 972,020
Bitcoin block 972,020 was mined by Foundry USA on October 18, 2026 at 3:44 PM UTC, 4 min 42 s after block 972,019. That is faster than the 10-minute average the network aims for: blocks come in bursts because finding one is pure chance.
It confirmed 1,174 transactions in 2.02 MB (99.8% of the 4 million weight-unit limit). The median transaction paid 1.10 sat/vB, up from 1.10 sat/vB in the block before, and all fees added up to 0.0139 BTC. With the 3.125 BTC subsidy of halving era 5, Foundry USA earned 3.1389 BTC for this block.
Block 972,020 is number 309 of 2,016 in difficulty epoch 482; 1,707 blocks remain until the next difficulty adjustment at block 973,727. The next halving is at block 1,050,000, 77,980 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 243 blocks in the week before. Today the block has 13 confirmations, so it is settled beyond any practical doubt.