Number of daily bitcoin transactions falls to 2018 levels

Quick Take

  • A range of on-chain metrics show a short-term decline in Bitcoin network activity.
  • This comes as bitcoin’s price remains stuck below the $40,000 mark.

The number of daily transactions on the Bitcoin network has fallen to a level not seen since August 2018.

According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, the seven-day moving average of daily bitcoin transactions dropped to 217,000 yesterday. The last time this number was so low was August 31, 2018.

This drop in daily transactions comes as bitcoin’s price hovers around the $36,000 mark, down 44% from its recent high of $64,000. Speculation over the causes of the price drop have ranged from Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets to a crackdown on bitcoin miners in China.

Other on-chain metrics have been impacted too. The number of daily active addresses on the Bitcoin network — also a seven-day moving average — has fallen to 940,000 as of yesterday, in line with levels last seen in May. The number of new addresses per day has also dropped to 372,000, back to March levels.

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As a result of both the price crash and lower volumes, the amount of on-chain volume in dollar terms has fallen from $17.3 billion per day to $7.7 billion — down 55%. 

On the plus side, bitcoin transaction fees are plummeting, making the network cheaper to use. The average fee is down from $53 to just $7, a decline of 87%. 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.