Bitcoin Runes has reclaimed its position as the top protocol on the Bitcoin network, surpassing the original Bitcoin, Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens in terms of daily transactions. The Runes protocol was launched on April 20, coinciding with the fourth Bitcoin halving, with the aim of improving efficiency on BRC-20, an experimental standard for fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain.
According to data from Dune Analytics, Runes-related transactions dominated the Bitcoin network until April 24. On April 23, Runes accounted for 81.3% of the transactions, pushing Bitcoin’s transaction share down to 18.15%, while Ordinals and BRC-20 transactions each accounted for 0.1%. However, Runes transactions gradually declined over the next nine days until May 2.
However, from May 3 onwards, Runes began to recover. By May 4 and 5, Runes had regained a transaction share of over 60% on the network.
The increase in transactions has led to higher network fees, which benefits Bitcoin miners. In just 16 days, the Runes protocol generated 2,253 BTC in fees for the mining community.
This increase in fees is particularly welcomed by miners as their earnings have significantly decreased after the Bitcoin halving. In May, total revenue for Bitcoin miners dropped to under $30 million per day. To maintain profitability, miners have been upgrading their technology stack with more efficient mining rigs to reduce costs and improve performance.
Bitfarms, a Bitcoin mining firm, has allocated $240 million for an upgrade that would triple its hash rate to 21 exahashes per second. Additionally, Bitfarms has sold most of the Bitcoin it has mined over the past two months to reinvest in expanding its mining fleet.
In other news, CZ, the founder of Binance, has received a jail sentence, Gary Gensler, the SEC Chairman, has expressed his view on Ether as a security, and the FBI has targeted mixers. This is the latest edition of Hodler’s Digest from April 28 to May 4.