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Bitcoin Runes protocol struggled to cope with the increasing volume of Bitcoin transactions. Since its launch on April 20, Runes transactions have dominated Bitcoin blockchain traffic on eight different days, mostly on weekends. The Bitcoin Runes launch coincided with the fourth Bitcoin halving event. The resulting excitement saw an increase in transaction volume on the Bitcoin blockchain network.
Interest in Runes Continues
Bitcoin mining revenue exceeded $100 million for the first time, recording an all-time high daily earning of $107.7 million.
Transactions attributed to the Runes protocol accounted for more than 50% of all Bitcoin transactions until April 24. The peak occurred on April 23, representing 81.3% of the bandwidth of these transactions, but by May 2, this figure had dropped to 11.1%.
As seen in the graph above, the excitement for Runes surged again on the weekend of May 4, 5, and 6, but this trend did not correct in the following weeks. As of May 22, Runes represented 12.7% of Bitcoin transactions; this rate was much higher than Bitcoin Ordinals (0.7%) and BRC-20 (1.5%). The remainder was accounted for by the Bitcoin ecosystem. Consequently, Runes transactions have dropped over 84% from their all-time high.
What is Happening in the Bitcoin Ecosystem?
Runes is part of a broader developer movement known as Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) or BTCFi, aiming to provide more benefits to the Bitcoin network. Adding the newly launched protocols Ordinals and BRC-20, the Bitcoin network reached a record level of 926,000 daily transactions.
It is important to remember that the real market opportunity for the Runes protocol may only emerge months after the initial wave of investor excitement subsides. TeraWulf’s co-founder and CEO Nazar Khan commented:
“Runes and Ordinals show the value of block space. The Bitcoin network is the most decentralized, secure, and robust network, and therefore, there will be use cases and value derived from this block space.”
