With Bitcoin Trading Near Record Peaks, the Mempool Sits Almost Empty

Bitcoin’s Mempool Empties Out Even as Prices Hover Near Record Highs, Raising Alarm Over User Drop-Off

Bitcoin’s on-chain activity has plunged, despite the cryptocurrency maintaining prices close to its all-time highs—a development that’s prompting some experts to warn of deeper issues beneath the surface.

Data from Blockchain.com shows that the Bitcoin network’s mempool—the virtual holding area for transactions waiting to be confirmed—has become unusually sparse.

On Saturday, only about 5,000 transactions were waiting in the mempool. By the time of publication, that number had grown modestly to around 15,000, still a far cry from the 150,000 transactions recorded when bitcoin surged past $100,000 for the first time in late 2024.

Since March, mempool transaction volumes have hovered between 3,000 and 30,000, signaling reduced demand for bitcoin’s network usage—even as bitcoin’s price has consistently remained above $100,000. At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is priced at $108,124.52.

“Bitcoin’s mempool—the list of transactions waiting to be processed—is virtually empty. The portion of miner revenue coming from transaction fees rather than new coin issuance has fallen to just a tiny fraction of a percent,” said Joël Valenzuela, who oversees marketing and business development, in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter).

Valenzuela cautioned that this sharp drop in network activity might be a sign of significant trouble:

“Put simply, nearly all of Bitcoin’s genuine users have vanished. And this is happening while prices are at all-time highs!” he emphasized, describing the situation as a potential major crisis that could leave the network bankrupt or turn bitcoin into a fully custodial asset dominated by governments and large institutions.

Joao Wedson, founder and CEO of crypto analytics firm Alphractal, also highlighted the empty mempool as evidence that retail investors have largely exited the market.

“When mempool transactions start climbing again, that’s usually the clearest sign that retail traders are returning—because it indicates rising demand to actually use the network,” Wedson explained.

The stark gap between bitcoin’s high market price and a nearly deserted mempool has triggered new doubts about how sustainable the current rally might be without the support of active day-to-day network usage.