April 23 saw a surge in the use of Bitcoin (BTC) for daily transactions, with the Bitcoin network recording the highest number of confirmed payments. Just three days after entering the new halving cycle on April 20, the network processed over 1.6 million unique transactions. The introduction of Bitcoin Runes, an alternative to Bitcoin ordinals, and the BRC20 protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain contributed to this increase in daily transactions.
Analysis of Transactions and Trends
Data from Dune Analytics revealed that on April 23, Runes accounted for 81.3% of all Bitcoin transactions. By April 29, BTC regained dominance, representing 77.8% of transactions, with Runes at 18.8%. Other transactions included Ordinals (1.2%) and BRC20 (2.3%).
Impact on the Mining Sector
The rise in Bitcoin Runes transactions has had a positive effect on the mining industry, with major U.S. mining firms Stronghold Digital Mining and Marathon reporting benefits from these transactions. Since the Bitcoin halving, Rune transactions have generated over 1,200 BTC in transaction fees for miners.