On-chain activity for Bitcoin has recently shown a clear rebound. According to Glassnode data, daily transaction volume on the network has surpassed 820,000 transactions, reaching a two-year high. Unlike the current price, which remains in a low range, this surge is driven more by increased on-chain usage rather than mere market sentiment recovery.
Rune trading volume surges again
The main driver of this growth has been the Runes protocol, which allows users to create and transfer fungible assets directly on the Bitcoin network, functioning similarly to the ERC-20 standard on Ethereum.
Data shows that the number of transactions carrying Runes protocol messages—known as Runestones—has exceeded 600,000 in a single day, reaching a two-year high. This indicates that most of the recent network traffic on Bitcoin stems from these protocol activities.
Fee contribution increases to approximately one-quarter.
In addition to the increase in transaction volume, Runes have significantly boosted miner fee income. Reports indicate that these transactions currently account for approximately 25% of Bitcoin network transaction fees.
This indicates that Runes are not just driving superficial increases in trading volume, but are also directly increasing on-chain settlement demand. For the Bitcoin network, higher fee income typically means intensified competition for block space and more intensive on-chain activity.
Activity has returned to its highest level since April 2024.
This is the first time since April 23, 2024, that Bitcoin transaction volume has returned to this level. At that time, it was shortly after the previous halving, during the early stages of the Runes protocol’s launch, when network fees had briefly surged.
Currently, the price of Bitcoin is around $62,000, still approximately 50% below its all-time high in October last year. Typically, during such price phases, on-chain activity tends to slow down, but this time the data has not weakened accordingly.
There has been ongoing market debate over whether Bitcoin on-chain token protocols possess long-term value. However, recent data shows that even during periods of price pressure, the Bitcoin network continues to attract real usage; in the short term, Runes has re-emerged as a key driver of on-chain traffic and fee growth.