New daily Runes etched on Bitcoin falls 99% from post-halving peak

As an analyst with a background in blockchain technology and experience in the crypto market, I’m concerned about the recent decline in the number of new Runes etched on Bitcoin daily. The fall from over 23,000 Runes etched in one day to just 157 is significant, and it has resulted in a substantial drop in transaction fees for Bitcoin miners.


As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed an alarming trend with the number of new Runes being etched onto Bitcoin daily. For the past six days, this number has dropped below 250, which is significantly lower than what we were seeing just a few weeks ago. To put it into perspective, only 157 Runes were etched on Bitcoin on Monday, representing a staggering 99% decline from its peak in late April. This trend is not encouraging and may be an indicator of decreased demand or market saturation for this particular feature. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this development and adjusting my investment strategy accordingly.

After an incredibly productive week following the launch on April 19th, there was a notable decline in the number of new Runes being etched daily. On average, approximately 14,700 Runes were etched each day from April 26th to 30th. The peak performance was recorded on April 26th with a remarkable total of 23,061 new Runes inscribed during that day, as indicated by the Dune Analytics dashboard set up by RUNES.IS.

New daily Runes etched on Bitcoin falls 99% from post-halving peak

As a analyst, I’d rephrase it as follows: I’m currently observing the introduction of Runes, a novel token standard that emerged during the fourth Bitcoin halving block on April 20th. This innovative protocol empowers enthusiasts of memecoins and non-fungible tokens to personally embed their preferred artwork, images, audio recordings, and videos directly onto the Bitcoin network.

At first, the event offered significant financial enhancement for Bitcoin miners aiming to offset the consequences of the recent halving. During this period, the block reward was reduced by half to 3.125 Bitcoins (BTC), equivalent to approximately $196,800 based on current market prices.

On May 13, despite the 157 Runes being inscribed, Bitcoin miners earned a comparatively meager $3,835 from transaction fees – a significant drop from the over $100,000 they were making daily towards the end of April.

Approximately $189,000 in transaction fees have been distributed to Bitcoin miners daily since the launch of Runes on April 20, amounting to a total of $4.5 million.

A little over 91,200 Runes have been etched on Bitcoin so far.

Runes still make up the bulk of transactions

As a researcher studying transaction trends in May, I’ve observed a decrease in the number of Runes inscriptions but discovered that Runes transactions still dominated the scene, accounting for the vast majority of transactions. These transactions predominantly occurred on marketplaces like Magic Eden, OKX, Ordinals Wallet, and UniSat.

New daily Runes etched on Bitcoin falls 99% from post-halving peak

Casey Rodarmor, the inventor of Ordinals, introduced Runes with a focus on maximizing blockspace usage more effectively than its primary rival, BRC-20s, as reported by Binance Research.

In contrast to BRC-20 tokens, Runes can be used in harmony with Bitcoin‘s UTXO system, allowing UTXOs to store balances of various interchangeable tokens including Runes.

In a recent interview, Rodarmor emphasized that Runes should not be regarded as the “finance of tomorrow” – instead, they serve as an entertaining tool for Bitcoin enthusiasts, often referred to as ‘degens’.

Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback?

Read More

2024-05-14 06:46