- Transactions involving Bitcoin Runes have dropped by more than 80% a month after the project’s launch
- In its first few days, the Runes project accounted for more than 50% of all Bitcoin transactions
- The drop in transactions indicates the fading of the hype surrounding the project before and shortly after launch on April 20
The initial hype around Bitcoin project Runes protocol is fading with Runes-tied transactions plummeting by over 80% just a month after the project’s launch on April 20. This is a huge decline considering that the transactions at one point averaged half of all transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. However, other popular Bitcoin projects like Ordinals and BRC-20 have also seen a significant drop in transactions, an indication that the hype around Bitcoin projects is probably cooling down.
From 80% to 11%
According to Dune Analytics, Bitcoin Runes transactions hit an all-time high on April 23 reaching slightly above 80% before dropping to 11% a week later. Although the transactions later tried to reclaim the ATH between May 4 and 6, the momentum wasn’t enough.
As of yesterday May 23, Bitcoin Runes transactions accounted for around 16% of all transactions. “Good old BTC” represented close to 83% of all transactions with BRC-20 and Ordinals-based transactions accounting for 0.9% and 0.3% respectively.
In terms of the number of transactions, there were 753,584 Bitcoin Runes transactions on April 23 and only 80,817 of them on May 23. The drop in transactions translates to a dip in fees generated, with the Runes protocol only generating two BTCs in fees on May 23 compared to 881 BTCs on April 20.
BRC-20 not a Rival
Bitcoin Runes, however, is eclipsing its rival project, BRC-20, in transactions, fees generated and other metrics according to the Dune Analytics dashboard.
Although Bitcoin Runes transactions have significantly plummeted, it doesn’t mean that the project is dead and it may indicate the start of another stronger phase, away from speculation.
