Bitcoin network activity approaches historical highs. Small transactions and inscription activities drive daily transaction volume to exceed 800,000

CryptoQuant data shows that Bitcoin network activity has risen to a level of only about 7% from the historical peak in September 2024, and has exceeded the long-term trend line for the first time since mid-2024. The main driving force comes from a large number of small transactions rather than traditional economic payment activities. The number of daily Bitcoin transactions in 2026 has exceeded 800,000, more than double the 2025 low and close to the 2023 - 2025 cycle high. CryptoQuant believes that this growth has structural characteristics rather than short-term fluctuations. Among them, the proportion of small transactions below 0.01 BTC has risen to about 80%, much higher than about 44% in 2023. This change is closely related to OP_RETURN usage approaching historical highs. CryptoQuant pointed out that protocols such as Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20, and data timestamp services generate a large number of low-value transactions by writing data to blocks, with some transaction amounts as low as 546 Cong. As inscription activity increases, the backlog of transactions in the Bitcoin memory pool has risen to approximately 128,000, the highest level since February 2025. Although it is still below the extreme congestion levels of September 2023 and November 2024, the report believes that non-financial transactions are taking up more and more of the Bitcoin network throughput, and if this trend continues, it may push up economic transaction fees that require high timeliness. At the same time, the increase in chain activity contrasts with the flow of funds. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot funds combined experienced a net outflow of more than US$528 million, but institutional investors still regard ETF capital flows as the core driver of this cycle and maintain Bitcoin's benchmark forecast of reaching US$150,000 by the end of the year.