Record Transaction Surge on Bitcoin Network Tied to Introduction of Bitcoin Runes
Summary:
Bitcoin saw a record number of confirmed payments on April 23, shortly after entering its latest halving cycle. The surge was linked to the introduction of Bitcoin Runes on the network. These fungible token standards quickly accounted for the majority of transactions, indirectly benefiting major mining companies with increased transaction fees. Even though the hype around Bitcoin Runes is cooling off, many see this as a new market opportunity in the evolving field of Bitcoin decentralized finance or BTCFi.
Bitcoin (BTC) usage for everyday transactions has seen an upsurge, with the Bitcoin network documenting the largest ever confirmed payments on April 23. Following the initiation into the fresh halving phase on April 20, there were over 1.6 million exclusive transactions documented in just three days, with the total number of confirmed daily payments soaring. This trend was noted on Blockchain.com and Glassnode, where data showed a direct connection between the upsurge in daily Bitcoin dealings and the commencement of Bitcoin Runes - an alternative to Bitcoin Ordinals, and the BRC-20 protocol within the Bitcoin blockchain. As per Dune Analytics' data, Runes made up 81.3% of the complete Bitcoin transactions on that day.
Although, as of April 29, BTC regained the majority of dealings across the network, comprising 77.8% of all transactions. In the meantime, Runes accounted for 18.8%, with Ordinals and BRC-20 transactions collectively accounting for just 3.5%.
Bitcoin Runes have been beneficial for the mining sector as increased transactions have led to financial and functional gains for major US mining companies like Stronghold Digital Mining and Marathon. These Rune transactions have contributed over 1,200 BTC in transaction fees to miners following the halving event.
While the excitement around Runes appears to be diminishing, Ignas, a pseudonymous decentralized finance (DeFi) analyst sees a realistic market potential here. In an April 17 post, Ignas suggests upcoming Rune token airdrops could trigger a new buying frenzy.
Runes and BRC-20 are the new standards for the fungible token that seek to offer better functionality for Bitcoin in the developing framework known as Bitcoin DeFi, or BTCFi. However, opinions still differ on whether Runes are truly an upgrade for Bitcoin.
Published At
4/30/2024 10:35:49 AM
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