Bitcoin records highest transaction count in two years, driven by Runes protocol

Bitcoin's onchain activity is surging despite the asset remaining deep in a bear market.

The number of Bitcoin transactions recently climbed above 820,000 per day, according to Glassnode data . The increase comes as bitcoin trades around $62,000, roughly 50% below its October all time high, a period when network activity would typically be expected to weaken.

The transaction count is the highest since April 23 2024, the immediate aftermath of the last halving event and debut of the Runes protocol, a Bitcoin fungible token standard, which brought with it a considerable spike in transaction fees.

Similar to how ERC-20 tokens operate on Ethereum, Runes allow users to create and transfer fungible assets directly on Bitcoin.

Runes appears once again to be driving a rush in Bitcoin activity, with transactions carrying Rune protocol messages, known as Runestones, surging above 600,000 per day, also marking a two-year high, Glassnode data show .

The current popularity of Runes is having a measurable impact on Bitcoin's economics. The share of transaction fees generated by Rune-related activity has climbed to roughly 25% of all network fees, reaching multi year highs. This suggests that demand for block space is increasingly being driven by applications beyond simple BTC transfers.

For years, critics have argued that Bitcoin lacks real onchain utility and functions primarily as a speculative asset. While debate around the long-term value of token protocols on Bitcoin continues, the recent surge in transactions and fee generation suggests the network is attracting meaningful usage even during a prolonged market downturn.

In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.

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