According to ChainCatcher, CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno said that transactions below 0.01 BTC currently account for about 80% of Bitcoin’s total daily transaction volume. The share is far above the roughly 44% level recorded in 2023, indicating that smaller transfers now represent a much larger portion of Bitcoin network activity.
Moreno said the increase has mainly been driven by OP_RETURN-based on-chain data protocols, including Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20, and data timestamping services. These protocols generate a large number of small transactions, adding to the continued rise in low-value transfers across the Bitcoin network.
Some of these transactions are as small as 546 satoshis, equivalent to about $0.35. Moreno also noted that the Bitcoin network activity index has continued rising since January this year and has now reached its highest level since the end of 2024.