Bitcoin Transaction Fees Shoots Amid Launch of Runes Protocol

After the Bitcoin halving occurred at block height 840,000, Bitcoin transaction fees experienced a substantial increase. This surge was primarily due to the introduction of the Runes protocol on the Bitcoin network. Consequently, the typical fee for each block reached a peak of approximately 18.62 Bitcoins.

Runes Launch Escalates Bitcoin Transaction Fee

Right now, the Bitcoin network is facing heavy traffic, causing the base fee for transactions to climb as high as 1,050 satoshis per byte (around $94). This spike in fees coincides with over 237,000 pending transactions and memory usage surpassing 300 MB, reaching a peak of 1.15 GB. The network’s congestion can be linked to the recent online debut of Runes and the resulting creation of new Runes. In simpler terms, Bitcoin is dealing with a lot of transactions at once, leading to higher fees and strained memory resources.

Based on OKLink’s report, the average revenue generated from blocks 840,001 to 840,015, which fall within the post-halving period and have a height of 840,000, showed a significant increase. Specifically, this average came in at 21.74 BTC. What’s more, the transaction fee rewards per block during this span reached an impressive 18.62 BTC. This data underscores the substantial influence Rune minting has had on Bitcoin’s transaction economy.

“The high transaction fees for Bitcoin are largely due to the implementation of a new token protocol called Runes, which became active on block 840,000 and utilizes the Op_Return function.”

There’s no guaranteed value or benefit from this speculation; it’s just a gamble with no certain outcomes.

Miners will churn through it eventually.

— Dylan LeClair (@DylanLeClair_) April 20, 2024

Despite the introduction of the Runes protocol, Bitcoin miners have reaped significant rewards from increased transaction fees. According to recent reports, these miners now earn an impressive $1 million for every mined Bitcoin block.

Almost $1M in txn fees to miners on every Bitcoin block since the halving.

Wild.

— Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) April 20, 2024

About the Runes Protocol

In an significant advancement for the largest blockchain globally, the Runes Ordinals protocol came about in December 2022, marking a transformative turn of events. Known as “Bitcoin’s second phase,” Ordinals brought revolutionary features that allow users to attach various forms of content such as images, audio files, and code snippets directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain.

After the triumphant rollout of Ordinals, developer Casey Rodarmor introduced an groundbreaking new token method called Runes. This protocol simplifies the process of generating fungible tokens on the Bitcoin platform, marking a substantial progression in Bitcoin’s ecosystem and broadening its uses and capabilities.

For Bitcoin miners bracing for a significant revenue decrease due to Bitcoin halving 4.0, the introduction of runes provides a welcome relief.

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2024-04-20 09:29