Bitcoin network fees surged to over $37, the highest since April 2021 as Bitcoin NFTs called Ordinals surge in popularity.
High transaction fees are a boon for publicly listed bitcoin miners and outperform range-bound BTC price.
Bitcoin (BTC) miners enjoy windfall profits as transaction fees spiked to the highest since April 2021 due to rising Ordinals inscriptions.
The average price of transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain surged over $37 Sunday, a level last seen in April 2021, at the height of the bull market peak, data by BitInfoCharts shows, up from an average of $1-$2 in September and early October.
The surge is mainly driven by the resurgence of Ordinals, a protocol that allows users to store non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Bitcoin blockchain called inscriptions.
Users created over 1.2 million new Ordinals inscriptions from Friday to Sunday, according to a Dune Analytics chart by crypto asset management firm 21.co, clogging the network with some 300,000 transactions waiting for confirmation.
The popularity of Ordinals have divided the Bitcoin community, with core developer Luke Dashjr calling them “spams” in need of fixing. However, sky-high fees have proved a boon for BTC miners.
Miners, who earn BTC for processing blockchain transactions, now generate some $63 million daily income from fees or $23 billion on an annual basis, almost quadruple of the two-year average, a Monday report from 10x Research noted.
“Despite bitcoin being range-bound, the BTC mining stocks are still performing well and are on fire with extraordinarily high fees being generated,” said 10x Research’s Markus Thielen, who is also the head of research at Matrixport.
Bitcoin mining stocks have also outperformed BTC price recently, Thielen added. While BTC is up 7% in December, mining stocks such as Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Platform (RIOT) and Cleanspark (CLSK) rallied 15%-40% during the same period.
BTC price vs. bitcoin mining stocks in December (TradingView)
Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, noted that BTC mining stocks may also benefit from a strong performance of the equity markets.
“Bitcoin miners have continued to perform well over the past several trading sessions, despite stagnation in the underlying price of BTC price,” he posted on X. “It’s a ripple effect from strong & broad-based equity performance.”
NewslettersMarketsBusinessTechPolicyIndexesTV & VideosPodcastsCrypto Explainer+EventsResearchAboutSponsored ContentNewslettersMarketsBusinessTechPolicyIndexesTV & VideosPodcastsCrypto Explainer+EventsResearchAboutSponsored ContentCrypto Prices Top Assets By DISCLOSUREThe leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary…
The $8.7 trillion-asset BlackRock is "dabbling" in cryptocurrencies – becoming the norm as bitcoin and ether rally to all-time high prices. Feb 18, 2021 at 2:31 p.m. UTCUpdated Feb 18, 2021 at 2:40 p.m. UTCFirst Mover: Who ISN’T Dabbling as Bitcoin Passes $52K, Ether Tops $1,900Price PointBitcoin (BTC) was lower after surging on Wednesday to…
news Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been ordered to pay back $45,000 in legal fees incurred by entrepreneur Charlie Shrem as part of an ongoing lawsuit that alleges he failed to broker a series of promised cryptocurrency purchases on their behalf. In the order, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District…
The cryptocurrency industry, for years plagued by hacks and other malfeasance, has a new group dedicated to cleaning things up, headed by cybersecurity veteran Justine Bone.Bone is the executive director of Crypto ISAC, the industry's first information-sharing and analysis center, essentially a hub for cybersecurity analysis. A leader in cybersecurity and cryptography for more than
Nov 24, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. UTCCoinDesk Is Spinning Up an Ethereum 2.0 Node. Here’s How to Follow Our JourneyCoinDesk just snagged a front-row seat to a seminal event in the crypto industry. Ticket price: 32 ETH.As a media outlet covering nascent technologies, we believe we can sometimes chronicle their development more effectively by participating…
Energy equals life. It warms, cools, and lights our homes. It moves the trucks that bring our groceries. It fuels the chips that drive the AI revolution. Energy can be considered a human right, and unless we transition to a zero-emissions economy — energy will kill us. The foundation of a zero-emissions economy lies in
Computing power on the Bitcoin network, known as hashrate, could drop by as much as 30% as unprofitable miners shut off their rigs after the next halving event, expected in April 2024, experts said in a Twitter Spaces on Wednesday hosted by CoinDesk as part of its Mining Week 2023.Lucas Pipes, Managing Director at investment…
Exit Plans, Premature Rallies and Frontline Heroes, Feat. Ben HuntEpsilon Theory's Ben Hunt and NLW discuss why markets are rallying as we enter what promises to be the deadliest week yet of the coronavirus in the U.S.For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts,…
"Genesis Cat," a digital art image minted atop the Bitcoin blockchain's Ordinals protocol by the Taproot Wizards team, has sold for $254,000 in a Sotheby's auction.The image was a special edition 1-of-1 piece by the Taproot Wizards artist Francisco "FAR" Alarcon, featured as part of a broader sale of Ordinals inscriptions by Sotheby's. The auction