Bitcoin Price Drops to Record Low as Transaction Count Hits Bottom: The Lowest in 1.5 Years!

The daily transaction count on the Bitcoin (BTC) network has fallen below 350,000, reaching its lowest level in the past one and a half years, while users' interest has shifted towards alternative blockchain networks that support Ethereum-like applications.

In 2024, Bitcoin-based protocols had a significant breakout, reaching a peak in transaction volume with over 700,000 daily transactions. However, the daily transaction count on the BTC network has recently experienced a dramatic decline, dropping to an average of about 316,000 transactions per week, before slightly recovering to around 350,000.

The main reason for this sudden drop is seen as a decrease in interest in speculative Bitcoin protocols like Runes and Ordinals. These protocols, which were previously heavily used for creating Ethereum-style tokens and NFT-like records, have fallen out of favor as investors' interest has shifted to different chains.

New Discussion on the Bitcoin Network: Low-Fee Transactions

On the other hand, the decrease in transaction volume on the network has led to an unusual technical situation in the Bitcoin network. Some users are attempting to make transactions below the fee threshold of 1 satoshi/vB, which is typically rejected by the Bitcoin Core software. The mining pool MARA, which has mobilized to support these transactions, has started using a special method called “Slipstream” to approve ultra-low-fee transactions.

This innovative initiative has sparked new discussions among Bitcoin developers regarding censorship resistance and network standards.

Bitcoin transaction fees have been below $1.50 since the beginning of the year. This is considered a clear indication of the decline in transaction volume on the network and that Bitcoin is returning to more traditional use cases.