A renewed wave of activity on the Runes protocol is lifting Bitcoin transaction volumes and fee generation to levels not seen in years.
Despite Bitcoin still trading in a prolonged bear market, on-chain activity has continued to strengthen.
Glassnode data shows daily Bitcoin transactions have recently pushed above 820,000, even as BTC hovers near $62,000—roughly 50% below its all-time high set in October. The move is notable because network activity usually cools during extended price drawdowns.
This marks the highest transaction count since April 23, 2024, shortly after the last halving and the launch of Runes, a fungible token standard on Bitcoin that previously sparked a sharp rise in fees.
Modeled loosely on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard, Runes enables the issuance and transfer of fungible tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.
Runes activity is once again driving usage higher, with “Runestone” transactions exceeding 600,000 per day—also a two-year peak according to Glassnode data.
The surge is also reshaping Bitcoin’s fee dynamics. Runes-related transactions now account for roughly 25% of total network fees, marking multi-year highs and indicating that demand for block space is increasingly coming from applications beyond simple BTC transfers.
While Bitcoin has often been criticized for limited on-chain utility and heavy reliance on speculation, the latest spike suggests the network continues to see meaningful real usage even during a sustained market downturn.
