Bitcoin Network Transaction Volume Surpasses AmEx, Research Shows

In a new report, cryptocurrency investment firm NYDIG found the Bitcoin network surpassed $3 trillion in transactions last year

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Bitcoin’s transaction volume has increased by 100% annually over the past five years, a new report says
  • Consumer spending has slowed amid rising inflation and new Covid variants

Bitcoin eclipsed $3 trillion in payment transactions last year, surpassing American Express and Discover, according to data from cryptocurrency investment firm NYDIG.

“Bitcoin has jumped into the number three spot in this ranking through significant growth in transaction volumes,” NYDIG researchers wrote in the recent report. “That transaction volume growth, while not always even year-to-year, has kept up at a torrid pace when looking at 5-year compound annual growth rates.”

Bitcoin’s transaction volume has increased by almost 100% annually over the past five years, data show. 

NYDIG’s report comes as consumer spending starts to rebound after the pandemic-induced slump, but it is unclear if the trend will continue, given inflationary pressure and rising concern over new Covid variants. 

AmEx announced record cardholder spending in its fourth quarter earnings report. Cardholders spent $368.1 billion in the last quarter of 2021, up from $285.9 billion in 2020. 

Discover also reported increases in transactions, with debit card spending up 18% year-over-year, according to its fourth quarter earnings report

While analysts had previously predicted consumer spending to increase through 2022, shifting monetary policy has created uncertainty. Consumer spending was down 0.6% in December, a surprising drop, considering seasonal spending trends. The trend could mean bitcoin is due for a rally, some researchers believe. 

“On the one hand, the US Federal Reserve has a mandate to control inflation, but it also has a mandate of stable prices. It is very challenging to see how the Fed can control both at present,” researchers from CoinShares wrote in a recent report. “Consequently, we see there being a high risk of a Fed policy error (waiting too long and then raising interest rates too aggressively), with the USD then selling off, both of which are likely to be supportive of Bitcoin and other real assets.” 


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

The L1’s Interwoven Stack is the most opinionated tech stack yet

article-image

Bitcoin is still rising, 11 years after the documentary film The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

article-image

Arch Labs CEO told Blockworks that the team plans to launch a native token, but declined to give details

article-image

CEO Mike Silagadze tells Blockworks that the US is “open for business” and why its DeFi bank offering is the first of many

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best