Bitcoin Microtransactions Surge to 80% of Network Activity as Ordinals and Runes Fuel Onchain Growth

Bitcoin (BTC) transactions under 0.01 BTC now account for roughly 80% of daily network activity, up from 44% in 2023, as a wave of small, protocol-based transactions reshapes how the network is used.

The shift has been driven by Ordinals inscriptions, Runes tokens, BRC-20 assets and data-stamping services, which generate high volumes of low-value transactions. CryptoQuant data showed daily transaction counts climbing above 800,000, with total transactions and average transactions per block sitting near all-time highs in 2026. 

The move marks a sharp change from 2023, when sub-0.01 BTC transfers made up less than half of activity, before inscription-based protocols took hold and began filling blocks with non-payment data.

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Activity Diverges From Price

The on-chain boom has come even as Bitcoin trades under pressure near US$64,000 (AU$90,880), an unusual divergence between network usage and market value. 

CryptoQuant’s Network Activity Index broke above its trend for the first time since mid-2024 and has held there since late March, signalling sustained demand for block space that is not reflected in the token’s price.

Usage of the OP_RETURN opcode, a field used to embed small amounts of data in transactions, has surged to near-record levels, consistent with the rise of inscription and token protocols. 

The pattern has pushed the mempool to its highest transaction count since late February 2025, with congestion concentrated in lower-fee transactions.

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