$BTC Bitcoin Price Nears Peak, Transaction Count Hits Bottom: Lowest in 1.5 Years!

While the number of daily transactions on the Bitcoin (BTC) network fell below 350 thousand, reaching its lowest level in the last year and a half, users' interest turned to alternative blockchain networks that support Ethereum-like applications.

Bitcoin-based protocols, which made a big breakthrough in 2024, reached a peak in transaction volume, reaching more than 700 thousand transactions per day. However, the number of daily transactions on the BTC network has recently decreased dramatically, falling to approximately 316 thousand transactions on a weekly average, before recovering slightly to around 350 thousand.

The main reason for this sudden decline is seen as the decrease in interest in speculative Bitcoin protocols such as Runes and Ordinals. Previously used extensively for Ethereum-style token creation and NFT-like records, these protocols fell out of favor as investors' interest shifted to different chains.

New discussion on the Bitcoin network: Low-fee transactions

On the other hand, the decrease in transaction density on the network has led to an unusual technical situation on the Bitcoin network. Some users are trying to make transactions below the 1 satoshi/vB fee threshold per transaction, which the Bitcoin Core software rejects by default. The mining pool MARA, which took action to support these transactions, started using a special method called “Slipstream” to confirm ultra-low-fee transactions.

This innovative initiative has led to new discussions among Bitcoin developers about censorship resistance and network standards.

Bitcoin transaction fees have been below $ 1.50 since the beginning of the year. This is considered a clear indicator that the transaction density on the network has decreased and Bitcoin is returning to more traditional usage areas.