Runes Protocol Continues to Drive Bitcoin Transaction Fees High Post Halving
The Runes Protocol is poised to ignite a new frenzy on the Bitcoin network, akin to what Ordinals did a year ago.
Runes Protocol Continues to Drive Bitcoin Transaction Fees High Post Halving. Image: Decrypt
Transaction fees on the Bitcoin network are currently soaring above $100 USD as investors rush to participate in fungible token projects launched via the Runes Protocol, introduced immediately after the halving event on April 20.
According to data from mempool.space, while the network maintains a stable 10-minute block creation time, executing transactions at this moment requires fees upwards of $100 USD.
Before the halving, the average transaction fee on the BTC network was just under 100 sats/vbyte, but it has now surged above 2000 sats/vbyte.
Bitcoin network metrics as of 09:20 AM on April 20, 2024. Source: mempool.space
Furthermore, the Bitcoin transaction backlog (mempool) has swelled to over 240,000 transactions, with memory usage rates reaching 1.15 GB, well beyond the 300 MB processing threshold.
The congestion and spike in transaction fees on the Bitcoin network stem from the launch of the Runes Protocol coinciding with the halving event.
As explained by Coin68, the Runes Protocol, developed by Casey Rodarmor, creator of the previously sensational Ordinals protocol, enables the issuance of fungible tokens on the world's largest cryptocurrency network, akin to ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network.
The Runes Protocol has been eagerly anticipated within the cryptocurrency investment community for months, with expectations that it will bring new vitality to Bitcoin and open up new use cases for BTC, especially in developing DeFi and memecoin aspects. Franklin Templeton, a financial firm that has ventured into issuing Bitcoin spot ETFs, even forecasts that the Runes Protocol will help Bitcoin catch up with smart contract networks like Ethereum and Solana.
As a result, many are actively seeking potential Runes Protocol coins that could see significant growth in the near future, a trend that is boosting overall activity on Bitcoin.
According to data from Runes Alpha, just 14 blocks after the halving, investors in the Runes Protocol have spent 143 BTC in fees (over $9 million USD) to chase after newly minted coins. Transaction volumes for token trades have surpassed 31,000, involving nearly 12,000 investors.
Token issuance transaction metrics via the Runes Protocol as of 09:20 AM on April 20, 2024. Source: runealpha.xyz
Popular Runes Protocol tokens currently include UNCOMMON•GOODS by Casey Rodarmor himself, SATOSHI•NAKAMOTO by the Taproot Wizards team, and memecoins like Z•Z•Z•Z•Z•FEHU•Z•Z•Z•Z•Z, THE•TICKER•IS•ELSA, THE•BEST•RUNEBEST,...
Most popular Runes Protocol tokens at the time of writing. Source: runealpha.xyz
