A recent contender in the world of Bitcoin standards, Runes, has emerged victorious in the ongoing battle for on-chain activity. Runes, a standard designed for creating tradable tokens (fungible tokens) on the Bitcoin network, was launched in April 2024. Since then, it has surpassed both Ordinals and the long-established BRC-20 standard in terms of transaction share.
Historically, the Bitcoin network bandwidth has primarily been used for Bitcoin transactions themselves. However, the emergence of these new standards allows for additional functionalities on the network. In 2024, BRC-20, another standard for creating tokens, held the top spot for utilizing over 50% of the network bandwidth for seven days.
Remarkably, Runes achieved this same feat in just 10 days, highlighting its rapid adoption within just three months of its launch. This dominance continued on June 10th and 11th, where Runes occupied an impressive 51% and 53% of the network bandwidth, respectively. This signifies a strong investor interest in the Runes ecosystem.
While BRC-20 briefly surpassed 50% share in March, it has since fallen behind the competition.
The increased network activity driven by Runes is a positive development for Bitcoin miners. Miners are responsible for processing transactions and securing the Bitcoin network, and they earn rewards in Bitcoin for their work. The surge in activity translates to nearly 2,500 BTC (roughly $170 million) generated through Runes since its launch.
