Bitcoin Activity Nears Record Highs as Microtransactions Surge

Microtransactions below 0.01 Bitcoin (BTC) now make up roughly 80% of daily transactions, pushing overall transaction activity close to record highs despite weak price performance. A Thursday report from blockchain data firm CryptoQuant shows its Bitcoin "Network Activity Index" has moved into positive territory for the first time since 2024.

Those tiny transfers represented about 44% of daily transactions in 2023; their share has nearly doubled since, driven largely by data-inscription protocols such as Ordinals, Runes and BRC-20 tokens. Sustained growth in non-financial activity could increase block space competition and raise fees for economic transactions.

“The economic value of these transactions is, however, disproportionately small,” CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno wrote. He added that OP_RETURN usage has climbed to near-record levels in 2026 and noted the 2025 removal of an 80-byte relay limit split the Bitcoin community.

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