Runes Comeback: Bitcoin Activity Surges to Two-Year High as Transactions Top 820,000

A sharp increase in activity around the Runes protocol is driving Bitcoin transaction volumes and fee generation to their highest levels in several years.

Despite Bitcoin remaining in a prolonged bear market, on-chain usage continues to climb strongly.

Recent data from Glassnode shows daily Bitcoin transactions have surpassed 820,000, even as BTC trades near $62,000—about 50% below its all-time high set in October. This is notable because network activity typically declines during extended price downturns.

The latest figures mark the highest transaction count since April 23, 2024, shortly after the previous halving and the launch of the Runes protocol, a fungible token standard on Bitcoin that previously triggered a major spike in network fees.

Similar in concept to Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard, Runes enables the creation and transfer of fungible tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.

Activity tied to Runes is once again accelerating Bitcoin usage, with so-called “Runestone” transactions rising above 600,000 per day, also the highest level in roughly two years, according to Glassnode.

This renewed demand is also reshaping Bitcoin’s fee dynamics. Transactions linked to Runes now account for around 25% of total network fees, hitting multi-year highs and indicating that block space demand is increasingly being driven by applications beyond simple BTC transfers.

While Bitcoin has long faced criticism for limited on-chain utility and its reliance on speculative trading, the recent surge in activity suggests growing real usage of the network—even during a sustained market downturn.