Bitcoin Runes, in terms of daily transactions, has regained the top spot in the Bitcoin network, leaving behind Bitcoin ecosystem transactions, Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens. The Runes protocol was introduced on April 20th alongside the fourth Bitcoin halving event as an experimental standard for fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, aimed at improving the efficiency of BRC-20.
Notable Development in the Bitcoin Ecosystem
Data from the blockchain data analysis protocol Dune Analytics shows that transactions related to Runes constituted the majority of the transactions on the Bitcoin network until April 24. On April 23, Runes captured 81.3% of transaction share, reducing Bitcoin’s share to 18.15%; both Ordinals and BRC-20 transactions were at 0.1% each. However, Runes transactions steadily declined over the following nine days until May 2.
As seen in the graph above, Runes began to recover from May 3 onwards. In the following days, on May 4 and 5, Runes transaction share rose above 60%. The rapid increase in transaction numbers inadvertently raised network fees, but this situation often works in favor of Bitcoin miners. The Runes protocol earned the mining community 2,253 Bitcoins in transaction fees over 16 days.
Mining Sector and Bitcoin
The mining community welcomes the increased fees following the Bitcoin halving event, as their earnings significantly decreased. In May, the total revenue of Bitcoin miners fell below $30 million per day. To maintain profitability, miners are reducing operating costs and enhancing performance and profitability through high-efficiency mining platforms with existing technology roll-up solutions.
Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms allocated $240 million for upgrades, which will eventually triple the hash rate to 21 exahashes per second. Additionally, while continuing to reinvest in expanding its mining fleet, Bitfarms sold almost all of the Bitcoin it mined in the last two months.
These developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem, along with the fourth Bitcoin halving event, have led to a process very different from previous events. Transaction fee earnings for mining firms and investors‘ interest in Bitcoin and tokens within the Bitcoin ecosystem directly affect the price of Bitcoin.
