Bitcoin Breaks Daily Transaction Record Days After Halving

In yet another milestone for the Bitcoin network, its daily transactions peaked at 927,000, surpassing the previous record of 724,000 set in December 2023, according to findings by Intotheblock.

The launch of Runes sparked a rapid increase, demonstrating growing interest and utility in cryptocurrencies, setting a new all-time high in Bitcoin’s transaction activity.

Runes, a new token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain, has dominated transactions since its launch following the halving on April 20, accounting for over two-thirds of all Bitcoin transactions. With more than 2.38 million transactions processed, Runes make up 68% of the total.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in daily transactions!

Following the launch of Runes, The number of Bitcoin transactions has increased rapidly, hitting 927,000 on Tuesday. This breaks the previous high of 724k set in December of 2023 pic.twitter.com/30JXbrLmdR

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) April 26, 2024

This data, sourced from a Dune Analytics dashboard shared by blockchain research firm Crypto Koryo, indicated the significant adoption and usage of Runes alongside traditional Bitcoin transactions, including ordinary peer-to-peer transactions, BRC-20s, and Ordinals.

Runes experienced its highest activity, surpassing 750,000 transactions on April 23. However, the following day saw a significant decrease, with the transaction count dropping to 312,000, less than half of the previous day’s total.

Industry experts appear to be divided on whether Runes will offer a sustainable revenue source for Bitcoin miners.

The new protocol, introduced by Ordinals Creator Casey Rodarmor, is promoted as a more efficient way to generate tokens on the Bitcoin network compared to BRC-20.

However, certain commentators, such as Nikita Zhavoronkov from Blockchair, have criticized the amount of block space Runes transactions are occupying, suggesting Bitcoin has deviated from Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.