About block 972,296
Bitcoin block 972,296 was mined by Foundry USA on October 20, 2026 at 8:57 AM UTC, 0 seconds after block 972,295. That is faster than the 10-minute average the network aims for: blocks come in bursts because finding one is pure chance.
It confirmed 6,379 transactions in 1.71 MB (99.8% of the 4 million weight-unit limit). The median transaction paid 0.14 sat/vB, down from 1.00 sat/vB in the block before, and all fees added up to 0.0027 BTC. With the 3.125 BTC subsidy of halving era 5, Foundry USA earned 3.1277 BTC for this block.
Block 972,296 is number 585 of 2,016 in difficulty epoch 482; 1,431 blocks remain until the next difficulty adjustment at block 973,727. The next halving is at block 1,050,000, 77,704 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 253 blocks in the week before. Today the block has 9 confirmations, so it is settled beyond any practical doubt.