• Bitcoin network fees have soared to more than $37, the highest since April 2021, as Ordinals, Bitcoin’s NFT, have grown in popularity.
• High transaction fees are a boon for publicly traded Bitcoin miners, which have outperformed the range-bound Bitcoin price.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are enjoying a windfall as transaction fees soar to their highest since April 2021 due to the rise in popularity of Ordinals subscriptions.

The average transaction fee on the Bitcoin blockchain soared to more than $37 on the 17th, according to data from BitInfoCharts. This is the highest level since the peak of the bull market in April 2021, and is up from the average of $1-$2 in September and early October.

Due to the revival of Ordinals

This surge is largely due to the resurgence of Ordinals, a protocol that allows users to store NFTs called inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain.

According to crypto asset management firm 21.co’s Dune Analytics, users created more than 1.2 million new subscriptions from the 15th to the 17th, and about 300,000 transactions are pending confirmation. A network jam occurred.

Ordinals’ popularity has divided the Bitcoin community, with core developer Luke Dashjr calling it “spam” that needs fixing. However, exorbitant fees have proven to be a boon for Bitcoin miners.

Miners who earn Bitcoin by processing blockchain transactions currently earn about $63 million per day (approximately 8.82 billion yen, equivalent to 140 yen to the dollar) from fees, or $23 billion annually. This is nearly four times the two-year average. 10x Research pointed out in a report on the 18th.

Bitcoin miner stocks soar

“Despite Bitcoin being in a range, the performance of Bitcoin miner stocks remains weak,” said Markus Thielen of 10x Research, head of research at crypto service provider Matrixport. “It’s going well, and the prices are going up because of the unusually high fees.”

Thielen pointed out that Bitcoin miner stocks have also outperformed the Bitcoin price recently. Bitcoin rose 7% in December, while miner stocks such as Marathon Digital, Riot Platform, and Cleanspark rose 15% to 40% over the same period.

Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, said on X (formerly Twitter) that Bitcoin miner stocks could also benefit from strong stock market performance. did.

Franzen said: “Bitcoin miners have continued to perform well over the past few trading sessions despite the stagnation in the underlying Bitcoin price. ” he said.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Cipher Mining
｜Original text: Bitcoin Fees Spike to 2-Year High as Ordinals Bonanza Gives Windfall Profit to BTC Miners