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Bitcoin is holding steady above $100,000, brushing up against its all-time high of $111,700. You’d think the crypto world would be buzzing. But surprise—on-chain activity is dead quiet.
On-Chain Dips While Price Booms
A recent Glassnode report shows something odd: fewer people are using the Bitcoin network, even though prices are flying high. Daily transactions are down to around 320,000–500,000. That’s way below the 730,000+ peak from early 2024.
What’s the deal? Mostly, fewer people are messing around with non-money stuff like “Inscriptions” and “Runes.” Those used to clog up the network, but now they’ve cooled off. Regular money transfers are stable, but overall traffic has dropped. It’s the opposite of what we’d expect during a bull run.
Whale Moves, Not Wallet Hopping
Even though fewer transactions are happening, the network is still moving billions. On average, around $7.5 billion changes hands daily, and that number spiked to $16B when Bitcoin first broke $100K.
But here’s the twist: the average transaction is over $36,000. That means fewer normies, more whales. Regular folks (retail users) are sitting this one out. Transactions under $1,000 now make up less than 1% of total value moved.
Miners Make Less, Exchanges Take Over
Another sign of quiet times? Transaction fees. Miners now earn only $558,000 a day from fees. That’s low. Improvements like SegWit and batching helped efficiency, but the real reason is fewer people fighting for space in each block.
Meanwhile, trading isn’t stopping—it’s just moved off-chain. Centralized exchanges are now the life of the party. Spot trading volume is over $10 billion daily. Futures are even wilder, averaging $57B a day with some peaks hitting $120B. Options? A healthy $2.4B per day.
So while Bitcoin’s price is partying, its network is whispering. Big institutions are dancing. Retail? Not so much.
