Analysis

Fees On Bitcoin Beat Ethereum’s As Ordinals Hype Returns

Jim Haastrup

Key Insights

  • Bitcoin transaction fees have surpassed Ethereum's for the first time since June 2023.
  • This surge in Bitcoin fees is likely due to the increased popularity of Ordinals,
  • Over 6 million Ordinals have been created since October 24, resulting in more than $30 million in fees being redistributed to the Bitcoin network.
  • The listing of $ORDI, the native token of the Ordinals protocol, on Binance in November further fueled the hype around Ordinals.
  • With the next Bitcoin halving less than six months away, the popularity of Ordinals is expected to continue increasing.

According to recent reports, Bitcoin has now seen its transaction fees beat that of Ethereum.

Interestingly enough, this shift in such an important metric comes at a time when the hype around Ordinals (or Bitcoin-based NFTs) is surging.

Bitcoin Fees Beat Ethereum's

Sometime in mid-November, this article cited data from Dune Analytics and showed a significant spike in trading volumes when it comes to Bitcoin ordinals.

This spike in trading volumes also came with a huge spike in an increase in the number of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions.

This week, however, according to BitInfoChart data, the average daily transaction fee for Bitcoin has now reached new heights, compared to Ethereum's.

Bitcoin's trading fees trump Ethereum's

The chart above shows that the average fee for Ethereum spiked to around $10.34 on Nov. 20, while Ethereum's fee sat at $8.43.

This marks the first time since June this year, that BTC fees have flipped with Ethereum's.

One likely theory for this rise in Bitcoin's trading fees may be observed increase in activity when it comes to Ordinals-based assets on the Bitcoin network.

Massive Demand For Ordinals

According to data from Dune Analytics, Ordinals-based assets saw a sharp spike in late October.

This came after a period of low activity between Sept. 25 and Oct. 23. As soon as this "inactivity" period was over,  Dune Analytics recorded that over 6 million Ordinal assets had been created since Oct. 24.

Massive spike in ordinals inscriptions | Source: Dune Analytics

In terms of fees? This amounts to more than 800 BTC in fees (or about $30 million by current prices), being redistributed to the network.

It Might Be Time For Ordinals To Shine

Ordinals have become a massive internet phenomenon so far.

One of the factors that boosted the demand for these Ordinal-based assets was when Binance listed $ORDI, the native crypto of the Ordinals protocol on 7 November.

And as soon as this listing hit the market, ORDI rallied by more than 50% in a single day.

Hourly chart showing ORDI's rally

Another factor that contributed to the Ordinals hype was the announcement of a $7.5 million seed round by Taproot Wizards.

Taproot Wizards seed rounds

Overall, the hype around this new trend of BTC Ordinals is expected to continue increasing, especially now that the next BTC halving is less than 6 months away.

Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.