According to U.Today, Bitcoin generated a record $78.3 million in fees on April 20, significantly outpacing Ethereum's $3.2 million. This surge in fees followed the launch of Bitcoin Runes by the creators of Ordinals after the halving event. The protocol allows for the creation of fungible tokens on the leading blockchain.
Lucas Outumuro, a researcher at IntoTheBlock, described the launch of Runes as 'absolutely insane.' He noted that the $80 million in daily fees is about four times larger than the previous all-time high set in December 2017. During the ordinals, the average transaction fee was $30, but it has now peaked at $128.
Despite the recent halving event, which saw block rewards drop by 50%, miners are now earning record revenues. On Saturday, they earned more than $100 million. This is a significant shift from the previous consensus that miners would face short-term strain following the halving, with prominent miners' stocks dropping more than 50% from their record highs.
Outumuro suggested that traditional finance was not aware of the launch of Runes. 'It's been less than 48 hours since the launch of Runes and it has already made an impact of historic proportions,' he said. However, it remains to be seen whether the hype surrounding Runes will continue. So far, retail appears to be sitting on the sidelines, as the number of retail addresses has reached a new low. Despite some pushback within its conservative community, Runes could potentially emerge as a solution to Bitcoin's long-standing security problem.