Ethereum
Bitcoin generates 24 times more fees compared to Ethereum
Alex Dovbnya
Rules could solve Bitcoin’s security problem, but will their success last?
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April 20, Bitcoin managed to generate a staggering $78.3 million in fees.
For comparison, Ethereum comes in second with $3.2 million.
The massive surge came after the creators of Ordinals launched Bitcoin Runes following the halving event. The protocol allows fungible tokens to be created on top of the leading blockchain.
Lucas Outumuro, researcher at IntoTheBlock, describe the launch of Runes, as “absolutely crazy”. He explains that the $80 million in daily fees is about four times higher than the previous all-time high set in December 2017.
During the ordinals, the average transaction fee was $30. However, it now peaks at $128.
Additionally, miners are now earning record revenues despite the recent halving event, despite the fact that block rewards have dropped by 50%. On Saturday, they managed to win over $100 million. Prior to this, the consensus was that mining companies would struggle in the near term after the halving, with shares of major mining companies falling more than 50% from their record highs. Outumuro believes that traditional finance simply wasn’t aware of the Runes’ launch.
“It’s been less than 48 hours since the launch of Runes and it has already had an impact of historic magnitude,” summarizes the analyst.
However, it remains to be seen whether this hype around Runes will persist. So far, it appears that retail has stayed away as the number of business addresses has reached a new low. However, runes could potentially emerge as a solution to Bitcoin’s long-standing security problem, despite some reluctance within its conservative community.
About the Author
Alex Dovbnya
Alex Dovbnya (aka AlexMorris) is a cryptocurrency expert, trader and journalist with extensive experience covering everything related to this booming industry, from price analysis to blockchain disruption. Alex has authored over 1,000 articles for U.Today, CryptoComes and other fintech media. He is particularly interested in regulatory trends across the world that are shaping the future of digital assets. He can be contacted at alex.dovbnya@u.today.