Novel protocols like Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes have been bringing in more activity to the world’s first blockchain.
In what is a significant milestone for the Bitcoin network, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency has now processed more than a billion transactions. That is according to data from Clark Moody’s Bitcoin dashboard.
The transaction was reportedly mined into block 842,241 at 9:34 pm. UTC on May 5. This means that it took the network 15 years, four months, and four days to achieve the feat. Bitcoin (BTC) was launched on January 3, 2009, with the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto mining the network’s genesis block.
Considering how long (about 5,603 days) the Bitcoin network has been in existence, it means that an average of 178,475 transactions take place daily.
Recent Spike in Bitcoin’s Daily Transactions
Without a doubt, the recent milestone is a testament to the present situation around Bitcoin. It is generally having a great time for various reasons, including the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The launch has since created a bullish sentiment for the token over the past year.
Also, novel protocols like Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes have been bringing in more activity to the world’s first blockchain. That is not to mention the buzz that also came with the network’s fourth halving event that took place on April 20.
All of the above events have led to heightened levels of daily transactions being seen on the network. On April 23, barely three days after halving, Bitcoin processed a record-high 926,000 transactions.
Why So Long?
Despite the fact that the Bitcoin network sets the pace when it comes to the crypto world, the one billion transaction milestone is one aspect where the oldest crypto network has struggled for long.
To put the above statement into perspective, its biggest rival Ethereum ETH, for instance, is leagues away in terms of processed transactions. Despite Ethereum launching over six years after Bitcoin, it has processed nearly 2.4 billion transactions as Etherscan data shows.
From all indications, Bitcoin had a longer journey to the billion transaction milestone. However, it might be noteworthy that Bitcoin’s transaction count did not include those made on its layer 2 Lightning Network.
According to data from the Bitcoin-only exchange, River the Lightning Network processed nearly 6.6 million transactions in August 2023 alone. That monthly figure suggests that hundreds of millions of transactions may have been processed on Lightning. That is since it launched some six years ago.
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