The Bitcoin network has achieved a significant milestone by processing its one billionth transaction, a testament to its growth and endurance since its inception 15 years ago. Clark Moody’s Bitcoin dashboard confirmed this milestone, recorded in block 842,241 at 9:34 pm UTC on May 5, underscoring the network's continued activity and utility.

This achievement arrives precisely 15 years, four months, and four days after Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, mined the network’s inaugural block on January 3, 2009. Over its lifespan of 5,603 days, Bitcoin has seen an average of 178,475 daily transactions, reflecting its widespread adoption and usage across various sectors.

Despite this accomplishment, it’s important to note that the official transaction count excludes those executed on the Lightning Network, a layer 2 solution aimed at facilitating swift and low-cost micropayments. Data from the Bitcoin-exclusive exchange River indicates that the Lightning Network processed an estimated 6.6 million transactions in August 2023 alone, indicating substantial additional activity beyond the main Bitcoin blockchain.

While Bitcoin experienced a surge in daily transactions surrounding its fourth halving event on April 20, including a peak of 926,000 transactions on April 23, recent figures indicate a slight decrease, with 660,260 transactions recorded on May 4. Ethereum, Bitcoin's foremost competitor, has eclipsed the one billion transaction mark long before, processing well over 2 billion transactions since its launch in July 2015, as reported by Etherscan data.