Historically, Ethereum fees have tended to be higher than those of Bitcoin (BTC). But this is no longer the case: in recent days, Bitcoin has been posting the highest fees. Why is this?
Bitcoin’s transaction fees exceed those of Ethereum
According to data shared by analysts at The Block, Bitcoin’s transaction fees have just skyrocketed. After an initial peak in the spring of 2023, they’re taking off again, and this time they’ve surpassed those of Ethereum:
Transaction fees on the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks
Over the past week, average Bitcoin transaction fees have climbed from $8.59 to $12.75. This corresponds to an increase of +48%. The number of transactions per day has also risen sharply: from around 250,000 a month ago, it now stands at 710,000. And this is not just due to the rise in the BTC price over the past few weeks
Ordinals registrations drive up transaction fees
According to analysts at The Block, the reason lies in Ordinals. Equivalent to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the Bitcoin blockchain, they’ve been making a comeback in recent weeks:
“While both chains have seen an uptick in activity recently, the resurgence of Ordinals trading and minting seems to have pushed Bitcoin to have higher transaction fees. “
This interest isn’t entirely new: back in August, Ordinals and BRC-20s already accounted for more than half of the network’s transactions. This week, however, the interest was palpable. A Bitcoin Rocks subscription sold for over $128,000.
Ordinals are still not unanimously supported by the Bitcoin community. Some see them as heresy, and a departure from Bitcoin’s original philosophy. Others see it as a technical feat, and a welcome evolution of the network. Either way, the interest is there, as evidenced by these transaction fees.
