In recent days, Bitcoin, Solana, Ethereum, and Cardano have experienced a slowdown due to significant price drops dampening overall enthusiasm and on-chain activity.

Runes Making Waves in Bitcoin Network

The Runes Protocol has emerged as a dominant force on the Bitcoin network, accounting for 69.1% of all transactions in the past 24 hours. This represents a substantial portion compared to other transactions focused on transferring capital between addresses.

The Taproot upgrade aimed to enhance the Bitcoin network’s scalability and privacy of transactions. However, it inadvertently created a loophole allowing users to store files like images or audio on-chain.

This led to a surge in inscriptions on the network, coinciding with the NFT boom in 2021. Despite a decrease in processed transactions post the Bitcoin Halving on April 20, more Runes have been minted on-chain.

Using Runes, users can mint NFT-like inscriptions stored on-chain, leveraging Bitcoin’s UTXO model. The protocol streamlines inscription minting and management, introducing a 13-character limit for ticker symbols and reducing steps for users, thereby minimizing spam on-chain.

Impact of Rising BTC Transaction Fees on Miners

The increase in inscriptions, particularly on platforms like Bitcoin lacking smart contracts, has led to a surge in transaction fees. Although transaction fees have slightly decreased from the highs seen post-April 20, they remain above $1 on average.

The rise of Runes and inscriptions is beneficial for miners who witnessed a revenue drop post the Halving event. Additional transactions contribute to higher revenue for miners, as each block—regardless of inscription density—is confirmed and added to the longest chain.