Summary
- Bitcoin network activity is on the rise, reaching figures not observed since 2024.
- Despite the increase in transactions, their overall value remains low.
- Transactions involving less than 0.01 BTC and 0.001 BTC account for approximately 80% of total network activity.
Despite Bitcoin trading nearly 50% below its peak price of $126,080, the number of transactions on the Bitcoin network is increasing.
According to data from crypto analytics company CryptoQuant, network activity has been consistently rising since January 2026, recently reaching its highest level since late 2024, currently just 7% shy of its peak activity recorded in September 2024.
“This above-trend reading has been sustained for several weeks and marks the first positive activity regime since mid-2024, contrasting sharply with Bitcoin's ongoing bear market price decline,” the firm noted.
Both total and daily average transaction counts are nearing record highs, as previously, activity had been declining since December 2024.
However, while the number of transactions is increasing, the economic value associated with them is relatively minor.
“The economic content of these transactions differs materially from prior high-activity periods,” the report stated.
Transactions involving less than 0.01 BTC and less than 0.001 BTC have significantly increased, now accounting for about 80% of daily transactions, up from 44% in 2023, according to CryptoQuant. The firm interprets this as indicative of “protocol-driven activity,” which maintains high transaction volumes but with low values per transaction.
Further supporting this is the increase in “OP_RETURN” usage, a Bitcoin transaction output field that allows users to add information to their BTC transactions.
Although this field previously had a byte limit, it was removed last year following a heated debate.
“Usage has surged to near-record levels in 2026,” the analytics firm highlighted, pointing to Bitcoin NFT activity and time-stamping services among other OP_RETURN applications. “These protocols create a high volume of low-value transactions, explaining the surge in the low-value cohort.”
Despite the increase in transaction counts, Bitcoin's price continues to decline. BTC has fallen 17% in the past 30 days, recently trading at $63,865.