Microtransactions dominate Bitcoin activity

The most striking driver of the current network activity is very small transactions. Transfers below 0.01 Bitcoin now account for around 80 per cent of all daily Bitcoin transactions. In 2023, this share was still around 44 per cent. At current prices, 0.01 Bitcoin corresponds to roughly 600 US dollars.

Activity is therefore rising significantly, but the value of individual transfers remains mostly low. The increase appears to be less value-driven than activity-driven: there are more transactions, but not necessarily more large economic transfers.

^{Graphic: Share of Bitcoin transactions below 0.01 BTC over time | Source: CryptoQuant / The Block}

Geopolitics may explain some usage, but not the main trend

Speculation around the reasons for this increase is running high. One explanation is that part of the activity may indeed be linked to regional and geopolitical factors. In Iran, for example, crypto outflows from the local exchange Nobitex rose sharply after recent geopolitical tensions and US-Israeli airstrikes. Outgoing transactions reportedly increased by 700 per cent within a short period.

Such events show that Bitcoin and other cryptoassets can play a practical role in countries affected by capital controls, currency stress or geopolitical uncertainty. However, they do not explain the entire increase in daily Bitcoin transactions. The data instead suggests that the current surge is mainly driven by protocol and data activity on the blockchain.

Runes, Ordinals and data inscriptions drive usage

Additional data can be embedded in Bitcoin transactions through various mechanisms, including OP_RETURN and inscriptions in transaction data. Protocols such as Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20 applications and timestamping services make intensive use of these possibilities.

This creates many small transactions, often involving very low amounts. That pattern fits the current data: there is substantial activity on the blockchain, but it is concentrated in small transaction sizes. The mempool has also been noticeably fuller recently, with the additional load mainly coming from low-fee transactions.

Viewed neutrally, higher activity is positive at first glance. It shows that market participants continue to find new reasons to use Bitcoin not only as a store of value, but also as transactional infrastructure. At the same time, it raises the question of whether Bitcoin's base layer is the right place for such small transactions.

^{Graphic: Bitcoin transactions per day since 2023 | Source: BitInfoCharts}

Bitcoin as a foundation, Lightning as a payment layer

From an economic perspective, Bitcoin's base layer is better understood as a final settlement system. It is designed for security, decentralisation and final settlement. Very small, fast payments, by contrast, are the intended use case for the Lightning Network.

Lightning enables Bitcoin payments outside the base layer, allowing them to be settled quickly and at very low fees. In November 2025, the Lightning Network surpassed an estimated monthly transaction volume of more than 1 billion US dollars for the first time. For that month, around 1.17 billion US dollars were processed across 5.22 million transactions.

This shows that the scaling layer is no longer merely a technical concept, but is being used in production. However, the nature of that usage is also changing. Many Lightning transactions are currently linked to exchanges and larger transfers, while earlier micropayment experiments in gaming and messaging applications have become less dominant.

The latest monthly figures for Lightning activity are not yet available. Since the Lightning protocol is a network of private payment channels, precise data can only be aggregated with considerable effort by the operators of such channels.

^{Graphic: Estimated monthly volume on the Lightning Network | Source: River}

Important legal information

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Editorial deadline: 25 June 2026

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