About block 972,496
Bitcoin block 972,496 was mined by Foundry USA on October 21, 2026 at 3:40 PM UTC, 0 seconds after block 972,495. That is faster than the 10-minute average the network aims for: blocks come in bursts because finding one is pure chance.
It confirmed 5,371 transactions in 1.70 MB (99.8% of the 4 million weight-unit limit). The median transaction paid 0.15 sat/vB, down from 1.10 sat/vB in the block before, and all fees added up to 0.0032 BTC. With the 3.125 BTC subsidy of halving era 5, Foundry USA earned 3.1282 BTC for this block.
Block 972,496 is number 785 of 2,016 in difficulty epoch 482; 1,231 blocks remain until the next difficulty adjustment at block 973,727. The next halving is at block 1,050,000, 77,504 blocks after this one.
Its hash starts with 20 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 266 blocks in the week before. Today the block has 14 confirmations, so it is settled beyond any practical doubt.