Bitcoin Runes Protocol Generates $162.4 Million In Fees

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Runes, a protocol for non-fungible tokens launched in August, has generated $162.4 million in fees over 15.6 million transactions within four months. Dune Analytics reports that the majority of these transactions occurred in the first two months, often surpassing 300,000 transactions per day. On April 23 alone, NFT investors conducted over one million transactions, including minting, etching, transfers, and edicts, which accounted for 81.3% of the total Bitcoin network bandwidth. However, daily Runes transactions have declined in the last two months, averaging around 50,000 transactions per day. Initially, the Bitcoin Runes protocol dominated daily transactions post-launch but has since seen a decline, with Bitcoin (BTC) reclaiming its network dominance. Since July 16, BTC has consistently occupied roughly 90% of the network, while the remaining 10% is shared among Ordinal BRC-20 and Runes. The Runes protocol was introduced as an efficient successor to Bitcoin Ordinals and a competitor to BRC-20, gaining preference among many investors. Over the past four months, Runes has exceeded BRC-20 in daily transaction share on most days, with BRC-20 outperforming Runes only on 13 days. Out of the 15.6 million Runes transactions, mints represent more than 9 million transactions, while edicts and etching account for 6.5 million and 91,500 transactions, respectively. Pseudonymous decentralized finance researcher Ignas recently commented on the market opportunity for Runes, suggesting that the real potential might emerge a few months after its launch. He noted that tokens like Runestone, RSIC, and PUPS are already gaining traction, promising holders new Rune token airdrops. However, he cautioned that the market could cool off, similar to the NFT frenzy post-JPEG reveal. Additionally, Bitcoin L2 network Stacks is preparing to launch a trading solution for Runes, BRC-20s, and Ordinals inscriptions.