Main navigation

Bitcoin On-Chain Transactions Skyrocket: What's Behind the Surge?

Thu, 05/04/2023 - 17:59
article image
Alex Dovbnya
The recent surge in Bitcoin on-chain transactions has been driven by the growing popularity of text inscriptions related to the BRC20 token standard, according to Rafael Schultze-Kraft
Bitcoin On-Chain Transactions Skyrocket: What's Behind the Surge?
Cover image via stock.adobe.com
Read U.TODAY on
Google News

According to recent tweets by Rafael Schultze-Kraft, CTO at blockchain data analytics firm Glassnode, the recent surge in Bitcoin on-chain transactions can be attributed to the significant increase in text inscriptions related to the new BRC20 token standard.

The data shows that these text inscriptions have surpassed all other types of transactions on the Bitcoin network, even momentarily exceeding the total number of all other transactions combined.

Schultze-Kraft provided a breakdown of the various types of Ordinal inscriptions within the Bitcoin network, revealing that text inscriptions make up the largest portion, totaling 2.8 million, followed by images at 650,000, video at 1,800, audio at 347, and other types at 19,000.

Related
Bitcoin Hashrate Continues Setting Records Despite Declining Prices
These text inscriptions are primarily used for deploying contracts and transferring tokens, which has led to a significant increase in on-chain transactions.

As a result, the Bitcoin fee market has also been impacted, with transaction fees paid to miners reaching $3.5 million yesterday, marking the highest value in two years.

Schultze-Kraft noted that up to a third of all Bitcoin fees paid to miners in recent days can be attributed to BRC20 transactions.

The increase in on-chain transactions suggests that users are finding new use cases for the network, and the Bitcoin fee market's growth may incentivize miners to support these additional transactions.

article image
About the author

Alex Dovbnya (aka AlexMorris) is a cryptocurrency expert, trader and journalist with extensive experience of covering everything related to the burgeoning industry — from price analysis to Blockchain disruption. Alex authored more than 1,000 stories for U.Today, CryptoComes and other fintech media outlets. He’s particularly interested in regulatory trends around the globe that are shaping the future of digital assets, can be contacted at alex.dovbnya@u.today.