Bitcoin recently introduced a unique token format called Runes, which, following its debut after the April 20th halving event, has been responsible for more than two-thirds of the actions within the Bitcoin system. Based on data from the Dune Analytics dashboard provided by the Crypto Koryo blockchain research firm, there have been approximately 2.38 million Runes transactions since its launch on April 20th, making up 68% of all Bitcoin transactions.

Exploring the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Data shared by Crypto Koryo includes total transaction figures involving regular Bitcoin peer-to-peer actions, BRC-20 assets, Ordinals, and Runes. Runes hit their peak on April 23, recording over 750,000 transactions, which dropped by over half the following day, ending with 312,000 transactions.

Initially, the demand at block 840,000 originated mainly from memecoin enthusiasts and NFT lovers eager to author and extract code on unique satoshis using the Runes protocol. As a result, Runes transactions accounted for about 70% of the mining fees on the halving event day. Since then, daily stats have ranged from 33% to 69%, showing a gradual decrease in excitement within the Bitcoin system. These changes might also be related to the recent decrease in Bitcoin values.

Notable Critic Voices Concerns

In light of these changes, experts in the field are split on whether Runes can offer a sustainable revenue source for Bitcoin miners, considering the noticeable gap between the volume of Rune transactions and the mining fees collected from Runes.

The novel protocol established by Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, meant for generating Bitcoin-linked tokens, is presented as a more effective method for generating new tokens on the Bitcoin network when compared to the BRC-20 token standard, another Ordinal-based technique. However, not everyone is pleased with the amount of block space currently occupied by Runes transactions.

One of the critics is Nikita Zhavoronkov, the chief developer of the blockchain exploration engine Blockchair, who argues that Bitcoin has strayed away from its original objective as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, echoing the viewpoint of Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.