Transactions on the Runes protocol on the Bitcoin network struggled to reach previous highs in December, marking a sharp decline compared to the previous months of 2024.
Since its launch, the Runes protocol has consistently had the highest bandwidth on the Bitcoin network. On April 23, Runes had over 753K transactions, surpassing the Ordinals protocol, BRC-20s, and Bitcoin (BTC). This figure accounted for over 81% of the total on-chain Bitcoin block transactions.
The number of transactions in the Bitcoin Runes protocol. Source: Dune
The momentum of Runes continued in early May but declined in mid-month. The protocol witnessed a significant increase in transactions throughout June. However, the protocol struggled to maintain interest, dropping over 88% by the end of the month.
Runes recorded over 15 million transactions in the first 4 months of the year.
In July, the Runes protocol also saw a significant decline in popularity. The percentage of transactions of the protocol dropped below 9% on average, reflecting a decline in investor interest in Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nevertheless, the protocol has shown enduring potential, recording over 15 million transactions in the first four months. By August, the protocol generated over 160 million USD in fees, totaling 15.6 million NFT transactions. The protocol also had a brief revival during the month, with August 23 recording 255K transactions.
However, the trading of the Runes protocol decreased in September and struggled to reach previous highs throughout the final quarter of 2024.
Runes recorded a Bitcoin transaction market share of under 10% throughout December.
In December, the transaction market share of Runes in Bitcoin continued to decline. Except for Christmas Day when the protocol had a 19.9% market share, the protocol's transaction levels maintained below 10% throughout the month.
Market share of transactions in Bitcoin by type. Source: Dune
The decline in interest in Bitcoin Runes occurs against a backdrop of broader declining interest in NFTs. In 2024, NFTs experienced seven months of decline before a temporary recovery in November and December. NFTs hit their lowest point in September when the monthly sales volume of digital collections fell below 300 million USD for the first time since 2021.
