Bitcoin network activity highest since 2024; price falls
Bitcoin’s on-chain activity hit its highest level since late 2024, led by small transfers and rising OP_RETURN use, while the price has fallen about 30% this year to below $65,000.
CryptoQuant data shows Bitcoin’s blockchain activity reached its highest level since late 2024, with the Network Activity Index moving above its long-term trend after a steady climb since January. The uplift began in late March and persisted for several weeks.
At points in 2026, total daily Bitcoin transactions exceeded 800,000, approaching the strongest readings of the 2023–2025 cycle. The index is roughly 7% below the September 2024 peak. Average transactions per block have increased during this period.
The rebound is concentrated in small transfers. Transactions under 0.01 BTC now make up about 80% of daily transaction counts, up from roughly 44% in 2023. The smallest cohorts, including transactions below 0.001 BTC, have surged this year and are nearing their 2024 highs.
OP_RETURN usage has climbed to near-record levels. OP_RETURN is a field that lets data be attached to Bitcoin transactions without creating spendable outputs. CryptoQuant links the rise in OP_RETURN outputs to activity from Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20-style markets and other data-writing services. Those systems often produce large numbers of low-value transactions because the main payload is embedded data rather than transferred BTC.
The increase in micro-transactions has pushed mempool counts higher, with unconfirmed transactions rising to about 128,000-the highest since late February 2025. The backlog is concentrated in low-fee transactions consistent with greater OP_RETURN and micro-transaction use.
Daily transaction fees remain muted. Blockchain.com figures show daily fees of 3.458 BTC on June 18, about 50% lower than a year earlier. BitInfoCharts reports the average fee near $0.27.
Miner revenue continues to rely mainly on the block subsidy. The April 2024 halving reduced the block subsidy to 3.125 BTC per block; at roughly 144 blocks a day the subsidy remains the principal source of miner income. Low fee totals mean higher transaction counts have produced limited additional fee revenue.
Data shows higher on-chain use in transaction-count terms while the market price has fallen about 30% year-to-date to under $65,000.
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