Runes Activity Rebounds: Bitcoin Transaction Fees Hit Record Highs

Bitcoin is seeing record transaction fees due to a surge in activity on the new Runes protocol, which launched alongside the fourth halving.

- Data from IntoTheBlock shows that the number of Bitcoin Runes transfers has tripled since its lows in August. This has pushed Bitcoin transaction fees up more than 32% over the past week, reaching their highest level since August.

- The surge has benefited Bitcoin miners, with total transaction fee revenue reaching $5 million over the past week.

- The Alkimiya protocol also recorded Runes activity taking up more than 50% of the blockchain’s block space, resulting in average BTC fees rising from 7,944 sat/vB to 13,111 sat/vB – an increase of around 65% in just one day.

- The Runes protocol, launched in April this year, allows users to create tokens on the Bitcoin network, improving the BRC-20 standard. In its first week, Runes generated over $62 million in revenue and contributed to a daily transaction fee of $81 million.

- Despite a subsequent decline in activity, Runes surpassed 50 million inscriptions in September, less than five months after its launch.

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