Bitcoin Just Processed More Transactions Than Ever Before

Bitcoin has blown its previous record for daily transactions, set during the 2017 bull run, out of the water

May 1, 2023 06:54 am

Tomasz Makowski/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

Bitcoin just processed more transactions in a single day than at any point in its 14-year history — thanks to Ordinals.

The daily number of Bitcoin transactions surged beyond 568,300 on Sunday — nearly 78,000 more than its previous peak during the top of the 2017 bull run.

Over 307,000 of those transactions were Ordinals, the most on a single day ever and a 16% jump on the previous record set on Saturday, per a Dune dashboard.

Newsletter

Subscribe to Blockworks Daily

That means Ordinals contributed around 54% of Bitcoin’s daily transactions at its all-time record.

*More Bitcoin transactions than ever before (source*: *Blockchair)*

Debuted in January, Ordinals allow data such as audio, art or even video games, to be attached (or “inscribed”) to individual satoshis, BTC’s smallest unit.

The result is a unique digital asset in the same vein as an Ethereum-based NFT, for example. Although, the relevant data exists entirely on the Bitcoin blockchain, rather than hosted externally, as is often the case.

More than 2.39 million Ordinals have been inscribed to date, per Glassnode, which said it has seen a “marked character shift” in Bitcoin mempools this year (Bitcoin mempools store unconfirmed bitcoin transactions).

Loading Tweet..

Text-based Ordinals inscriptions are apparently growing in number.

Ordinals aside, most other bitcoin transactions right now are monetary in nature, often triggered by crypto exchanges, according to Glassnode.

“Importantly, Inscriptions represent approximately 30% to 40% of mined transactions — 10% to 20% of fees paid,” Glassnode said.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Newsletter

Blockworks Daily

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2025

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 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.

learn more

recent research

Research

Analyst Takes: Post-Election Insights

With the recent election, it’s clear that there will be a meaningful shift in crypto regulations and legislation. Trump is likely as pro-crypto as a president can be. He launched (multiple) of his own NFT collections and is launching an Aave wrapper called World Liberty Fi. He has also spoken out and mentioned that he wants to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet" and transform it into the "Bitcoin superpower of the world". He proposed creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile alongside support from Senator Cynthia Lummis, promising to retain 100% of all Bitcoin held by the U.S. government. More importantly, we’re likely to see deregulation across the board in a lot of industries, with crypto being one of them - as Trump has committed to keeping the crypto market largely unregulated. Crypto, DeFi in particular, has historically been knee-capped by overreaching and hostile governmental agencies and regulation by enforcement, as evidenced by the plethora of Wells notices and lawsuits over the past few years. With Donald Trump winning the presidency, Republicans taking control of the Senate, and being on the verge of securing the House, we think it’s likely that crypto realizes positive regulatory clarity. Below, you can find our analysts’ takes:

by Boccaccio