Launched in April, the Bitcoin Runes protocol, targeting the NFT sector, amassed $162.4 million in fees from 15.6 million transactions in just four months. Data from Dune Analytics highlights that the protocol saw its peak activity in the first two months, with daily transactions often surpassing 300,000. April 23 alone witnessed over one million transactions, consuming 81.3% of the Bitcoin network’s bandwidth.
What is Driving the Bitcoin Ecosystem?
Conversely, the last two months have seen a dip in daily Runes transactions, averaging around 50,000. While initially dominating daily transactions post-launch, the Runes protocol is now experiencing a gradual decline as Bitcoin reclaims its network dominance.
Details Behind the Trends
Since mid-July, Bitcoin network activity has consistently accounted for about 90% of the traffic, with the remaining 10% divided among Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and Runes. Runes was introduced as a successor to Bitcoin Ordinals and a competitor to BRC-20, which led many investors to favor it over the alternatives.
Over the past four months, Runes has consistently surpassed BRC-20 in daily transaction share. The data shows that out of the 15.6 million Runes transactions, more than nine million were represented on the platform, with 6.5 million individual transactions and 91,500 contract activities.
Market Insights and Expectations
Decentralized finance researcher Ignas has observed that the real market potential for Runes might materialize a few months post-launch. Ignas mentioned that rising tokens like Runestone, RSIC, and PUPS show promise through Rune token airdrop events, although market enthusiasm might wane similar to the post-JPEG NFT trend. Additionally, the Bitcoin Layer-2 network Stacks is gearing up to offer a trading solution for Runes, BRC-20s, and Ordinals inscriptions.
Key Takeaways for Investors
– Runes protocol has generated significant fees in a short period.
– Daily transactions have seen a decline but remain substantial.
– Investors should watch for emerging tokens and upcoming airdrop events.
– The Bitcoin network continues to hold the majority of network activity.
– Stacks’ upcoming trading solutions could further impact the Runes protocol.
