According to CryptoPotato, Runes transactions have generated $117 million in cumulative Bitcoin network fee revenue post-halving, with $62.4 million amassed on the day of the halving itself. However, recent data reveals a significant drop, with Runes transactions contributing only $1.03 million in fees on April 28. On the day of the halving, April 20, transaction fees within the Bitcoin network saw a notable spike, primarily due to the implementation of the Runes protocol, which led to higher mining fees. Runes transactions accounted for 57.7% of all Bitcoin network transactions, with financial transactions trailing behind at 41.5%. Ordinals and BRC-20 accounted for 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.
This dominance persisted over the halving weekend, with Runes maintaining most of the network activity. On April 21, Runes transactions accounted for 51.6% of total transactions. However, by April 22, this dominance began to decrease, dropping to 42.5%, while Bitcoin financial transactions claimed a larger portion, accounting for 56.5% of total transactions processed that day.
The situation has since changed, with transaction fees decreasing. Medium-priority transactions are now priced at approximately $8.48, while high-priority transactions are priced at around $9.321. This marks a 75% decrease in fees compared to the immediate aftermath of the halving, which saw fees rise to $146 for a medium-priority transaction and $170 for a high-priority transaction.
Bitcoin researcher Jade Ardinals suggests that the increased load on the network was primarily caused by minting. Speculation surrounding Runes caused a surge in minting activities, creating an 'artificial' strain on Bitcoin block space. Analysts anticipate that this pressure will diminish over time. However, they maintain that Runes will continue to attract more developers to Bitcoin. Runes tokens have already captured a large portion of Bitcoin’s on-chain activity. On April 25, Runes tokens comprised 45% of all Bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin Runes was developed by Casey Rodarmor to enhance the BRC-20 standard, known for its costly token creation and management on the blockchain due to its UTXO proliferation. Bitcoin faces challenges with accumulating unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), which strain the network and lead to performance issues. Runes enables users to conduct more efficient transactions and create better-optimized tokens on Bitcoin by leveraging its UTXO format.
