Resurgent Ordinals: Bitcoin Fees Surge by 1,000% Since August

Elevated fees are providing a much-needed boost to the struggling miners within the industry, as highlighted by 21Shares.

Bitcoin's Ordinals Inscriptions Surge: Insights from 21.co/Dune Analytics 

Bitcoin transaction fees have reached their highest point since the frenzy surrounding meme coins back in May, propelled by the resurgence of Bitcoin-backed non-fungible tokens known as Ordinals. Data from BitInfoCharts reveals that average transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain have surged to $6.84, a staggering 970% increase from the low of $0.64 observed in August.

This surge can be attributed to the growing minting of Ordinals, with a substantial 1.9 million inscriptions uploaded onto the blockchain over the past fortnight, as highlighted in a report by digital asset management firm 21Shares.

Bitcoin has now emerged as the leading blockchain in terms of NFT sales volume (excluding wash trading) in the past 24 hours, displacing Ethereum, according to data from CryptoSlam.

Bitcoin Transaction Fee Trends: Insights from BitInfoCharts 

Ordinals, a protocol enabling users to store NFTs on the Bitcoin network, experienced a surge in popularity earlier this spring during a short-lived frenzy surrounding meme tokens. This surge drove fees to their highest levels in almost two years. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, recently listed Ordinals' token ORDI, which nearly doubled in price before experiencing a slight pullback on Wednesday.

"While ordinals have primarily been associated with memecoin applications, they do serve as an indicator of the growing demand for Bitcoin block space,"

 noted analysts at 21Shares.

The resurgence of Ordinals also proves advantageous for bitcoin miners, as emphasized in the report, as transaction fees on the blockchain now account for approximately 8.5% of their total revenue. This holds particular significance for miners as Bitcoin's quadrennial halving event, expected in April 2024, draws nearer. This event will halve block rewards for the industry, impacting their earnings.

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