Bitcoin miners’ revenue down 90% after BRC-20 frenzy

• Bitcoin miners’ revenue from fees dropped 90% since the BRC-20 peak, from $17.8 million daily to $1.7 million per day as of 29 May, 2023.
• However, current levels remain within historical levels with only 310 out of 4674 trading days having seen greater fees.
• In 2018, transaction fees were higher than recent highs only on two trading days.

Bitcoin miner revenue from transaction fees has declined significantly since the BRC-20 frenzy that drove network activity higher earlier in the month.

Bitcoin mining is a key component of the flagship cryptocurrency’s network operations and miners earn from the set subsidy as well as transaction fees. BRC-20 tokens are a type of fungible tokens created on the Bitcoin blockchain. They are ordinal inscriptions that can are used to represent a variety of things, including digital assets and loyalty points.

Miner revenue from fees falls sharply after BRC-20 frenzy

According to data from Glassnode, a leading on-chain and financial markets data platform, miners were earning roughly $17.8 million from transaction fees per day. This happened as Bitcoin price traded near the YTD highs and as the BRC-20 craze hit the industry. 

However, as of May 29, 2023, the earnings had declined considerably and miners were taking home just $1.7 million from network fees per day.

Miner earnings from fees has thus fallen by about $16.1 million, or 90.85% from that recent peak, Glassnode highlighted on Monday.

But as the platform noted, miners’ revenues from fees dropping to latest levels still sees the figures near historical ones seen in most trading days. Only 310 out of 4,674 days, or 6.7% of BTC trading days have seen higher miner revenue from fees.

The platform shared:

“At the peak of the BRC-20 frenzy, Bitcoin miners were earning $17.8M in transaction fees, with only 2 trading days across the 2018 peak recording a larger fee revenue. Currently, miners are earning $1.7M in fee revenue, a -$16.1M decline from the recent peak. However, this remains significantly elevated when compared to historical precedence, with only 310 / 4674 (6.7%) trading days recording greater fees.”

The Bitcoin network recently saw a massive surge in activity as the demand for BRC-20 tokens soared. The result, as highlighted here, was network congestion as the rush to inscriptions helped fees to spike to year-to-date highs. It proved a bumper season for miners as Glassnode data shows.

In 2018, when Bitcoin fees also spiked significantly, only 2 trading days had recorded transaction fees higher than the $17.8 million miners earned recently.