The Ordinals windfall is boosting BTC miners’ profits. Bitcoin network fees have skyrocketed to over $37, the highest level since April 2021, driven by the surging popularity of Bitcoin NFTs known as Ordinals. This spike in transaction fees has proven to be a great opportunity for publicly traded Bitcoin miners, outperforming a range-bound Bitcoin price.
Record transaction fees
The average transaction fee on the Bitcoin blockchain reached over $37, a level last seen in April 2021 at the peak of the bull market. This increase is primarily due to the resurgence of Ordinals, a protocol that allows users to store non-fungible tokens (NFTs), known as inscriptions, on the Bitcoin blockchain.
According to a Dune Analytics chart from crypto asset management firm 21.co, users created more than 1.2 million new Ordinals inscriptions from Friday to Sunday, filling the network with approximately 300,000 transactions.
Higher fees, higher profits for miners
The surge in transaction fees presents an unprecedented opportunity for Bitcoin miners, who see this trend as a more lucrative revenue source than simple fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin. Indeed, the rising popularity of Ordinals, the protocol allowing NFT storage on the Bitcoin blockchain, has intensified this dynamic. Bitcoin miners are thus recording unprecedented profits, propelled by growing demand linked to the Ordinals frenzy.
Ordinals: impact on Bitcoin fees and miners
The rise in Bitcoin network transaction fees to a 2-year record high is mainly attributed to the booming popularity of Ordinals, a protocol allowing users to store NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain. This increase in transaction fees has resulted in exceptional profits for Bitcoin miners, outperforming a range-bound Bitcoin price.
As the market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how the Bitcoin ecosystem adapts to this growing demand for storage and transaction capacities for NFTs.
