Last Ethereum block before merge minted $47K NFT

Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake was literally a once-in-a-lifetime event. Thanks to the public and immutable nature of the blockchain, an NFT marking the historic moment – ​​minted right at the border of the merger – has proven to be an enticing prospect for a collector’s item.

Niche NFT project VanityBlocks was created to allow a person to fill an entire Ethereum block with a single transaction, and then turn that block into an NFT. The project’s founder wanted the final Ethereum proof-of-work block, badly.

Normally, a block contains anywhere from a few to a few hundred transactions, depending on how much code each one has. But VanityBlocks tokenizes the block itself, leaving the coiner with a permanent blockchain trophy token that represents a snapshot in time.

It’s an expensive proposition. The last ever “mined” Ethereum block cost 30.5 ETH ($47,160) to transform into an NFT.

VanityBlocks’ founder, who goes by the pseudonym MonkeyOnTheLoose, told Blockworks that he conceived the idea about a year ago during a cannabis-infused conversation with friends.

“Since we minted blocks all year, it was obvious that we had to mint the merge [block],” he said.

The project raised 70 ETH ($104,800) “from a bunch of [people]” to take a stab at minting the last block that will ever be mined on Ethereum.

But it was far from a safe bet. Proof-of-work mining has variability in the timing of block production, so choosing the right moment to submit a transaction to mining pools quickly should be a challenge.

“Our chances were slim,” the VanityBlocks founder said.

To make it work, a week ago they entered into an agreement with Bloxroute, which provides direct connections to miners with the ability to propagate the VanityBlocks transaction privately without it hitting the Ethereum mempool – a cache of pending transactions waiting for to be included in blocks.

“We liked the idea, we thought it was cool,” Bloxroute CEO Uri Klarman told Blockworks, estimating that their toolkit increased the chances of VanityBlocks hitting their target to about 99%.

The block contains a message, as does the group posted on Twitter feed:

“You make a commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you down, it will lift you up. This is the trick.”

NFT is listed on the OpenSea market with a current best bid of 10 ETH (about $15,000).

For Bloxroute, it was a chance to be part of the creation of a digital artifact that symbolizes the end of the proof-of-work chain.

“This was a giant piece of history, we had a tiny tiny tiny bit in it,” Klarman said.

“There’s an NFT there – we made it happen – which is kind of cool. I’m proud of that!”

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