Bitcoin Transaction Fees Rise Driven by Runes Launch

The Bitcoin network has recently seen a rise in transaction fees, with the average reaching over $16 according to a 7-day moving average.

The increase in fees has been linked to increased user activity in anticipation of the launch of Runes, a protocol created by Bitcoin developer and Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmore in September 2023.

This protocol will allow for the issuance of fungible tokens on the blockchain of Bitcoin, using the UTXO model to prevent network congestion.

Rodarmor sees Runes as a competitor to Taproot Assets and RGB, and it is expected to launch after the upcoming Bitcoin halving. In April, there was a surge in trading volumes for the PUPS meme token and NFTs from the project’s collection within the BRC-20 standard.