Important news for the Runes protocol, an integral part of the Bitcoin ecosystem, which quickly gained popularity after its launch, which coincided with the fourth halving of the network on April 20th.
Specifically, transactions related to the protocol accounted for 57.7% of the total during the halving day. Below we see all the details.
Bitcoin’s Runes represents 57.7% of transactions on halving day: the latest news
As anticipated, launched on the day of the Bitcoin halving, the Runes protocol allows for embedding data directly into Bitcoin transactions, going beyond simple financial transactions and enabling the insertion of additional information.
Unlike other innovations Bitcoin such as Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, which have different approaches for data storage and management, Runes uses the “increased transactions” method.
This allows you to insert arbitrary data into transaction results (UTXO). This system makes runes suitable for storing different types of data, from messages to more complex scripts.
The key distinction of Runes compared to the Ordinals, which encode data in individual satoshis, lies in its ability to connect a wide variety of information to specific transaction outputs.
Furthermore, Runes differs from BRC-20 tokens, a standard similar to Ethereum’s ERC-20, designed for issuing and managing tokens on Bitcoin sidechains, in particular the RSK Smart Contract Network.
The popularity of Runes leads to congestion on the Bitcoin network after the halving
The Runes protocol operates using Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXO), which represent amounts of Bitcoin that have not yet been spent.
The OP_RETURN function, used by the Runes protocol, allows to embed data in transactions without adding clutter to the network.
However, the popularity of the protocol can lead to congestion and higher fees due to the increased volume of transactions it generates.
The strategic launch of Runes during the halving has attracted great attention, taking advantage of the moment of interest when miner rewards are halved and the market discusses the future price of Bitcoin.
This visibility has led to a significant impact on the Bitcoin network, with the runes representing 57.7% of all transactions on the day of the halving, April 20th.
Despite the protocol design to minimize overhead, the popularity of Runes can still contribute to network congestion.
During the weekend following the halving, Runes continued to dominate transactions on the Bitcoin network, representing 51.6% of total transactions on April 21st.
However, their dominant position decreased by April 22, dropping to 42.5%, with a return to 56.5% of Bitcoin financial transactions.
Bitget Wallet embraces the Runes protocol
The rapid rise of the Runes protocol has led Bitget Wallet to integrate support for it in their DApp browser, creating a dedicated category within the wallet.
Now, users can interact directly with DApps for engraving and trading runes through the Bitget Wallet.
The Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, Alvin Kan, explained the reason for the success of the Runes protocol. Accepted as the authentic native protocol for issuing assets on Bitcoin, it has received strong support from the market.
The Pre-Runes projects, like Runestone, have reached valuations exceeding $500 million before the official launch of the Runes Protocol.
The visibility of the protocol has increased thanks to the support of the main trading platforms, attracting the attention of many Western users.
The growing interest has also led to an increase in transaction fees on the Bitcoin network, with fees reaching 2,000 sats/vb. This increase has been caused by the increased activity around the Pre-Runes projects.
Alvin sees great potential for the Runes Protocol, despite short-term challenges due to network congestion and liquidity issues. L
His positive vision is supported by the growing enthusiasm of the Bitcoin community, which includes developers, enthusiasts, and investors from around the world.
With the support of major trading platforms, it is expected that the Runes Protocol will continue to gain traction, improving liquidity and driving innovation within Web3.
“I am confident about the future of the Runes Protocol. This is just the beginning of a global phenomenon that will be a focal point in Web3 for innovation.”