We point out that with a specific counting of states loop quantum gravity implies that black holes perform a phase transition at a certain characteristic temperature $T_C$. In this phase transition the punctures of the spin network on the stretched horizon of the black hole jump, in effect, from the vacuum to the excited states. The characteristic temperature $T_C$ may be regarded as the lowest possible temperature of the hole. From the point of view of a distant observer at rest with respect to the hole the characteristic temperature $T_C$ corresponds to the Hawking temperature of the hole.

7 pages, no figures, published in the Physical Review D. Comments welcome