BRC-20 Meme Coins Frenzy Spikes Bitcoin Network Fees
The recent switch from meme coins to the BRC-20 standard has changed Bitcoin’s network fees. More emerging meme coins flock to BTC’s BRC-20 standard as more coins emerge.
Notably, the hype and frenzy over meme coins has risen due to the impressive performance of Pepe Coin (PEPE) and Wojak (WOJAK). The influx of these projects has congested the BTC network. As a result, BTC transaction fees have reached a multi-year high.
BRC-20 token rates hit multi-year high
With the growing hype around meme coins, activity around tokens within the Bitcoin network continues to increase. According to cryptographic data analytics platform Dune Analyticsdaily mintage rates on the BRC-20 reached a record high of 247 BTC on May 7. The figure shows that rates have reached their highest level in two years.
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Cumulative fees paid on the Bitcoin Network surpassed $3.5 million on May 3, increasing 400% since the end of April. The total fee for BTC Ordinals was 641 BTC edminutes of YCharts shows that the average Bitcoin transaction fee on May 7 reached $19.21.
The number of BRC-20 tokens on the Bitcoin network has surpassed 14,000, many of which are meme coins. The total market capitalization of these coins is over $952 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of over $10 million.
The record highs and rising value of the BRC-20 tokens are responsible for the recent rise in BTC ordinals. Additionally, some NFTs contributed to the growth.
Congestion on the Bitcoin network due to the increased shift to the BRC-20 standard
Before, the Ethereum network had many ERC-20 tokens, including meme coins. This congestion slowed down transactions and other problems associated with network scalability.
However, the recent emergence of the BRC-20 model has attracted several meme coins and other cryptocurrencies to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Pepe Coin is one of the main meme coins that created the growing frenzy on BRC-20. PEPE increased by more than 600% in 7 days in its ongoing pre-sale stages.
An on-chain data provider, Galaxy Searchreported that BRC-20 transactions accounted for 50% of total BTC transactions on May 2.
BRC-20 tokens are fungible tokens designed into the Bitcoin blockchain. They have great similarities with the ERC-20 token standard on the Ethereum network. However, BRC-20 tokens have less features as there is no smart contract support on the Bitcoin network.
Due to the recent bullish trend in BTC transactions, the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance suspended BTC withdrawals temporarily on your platform. According to the exchange, the company has problems with BTC withdrawals due to the high volume of transactions.
Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com