Bitcoin network activity rebounds to 2024 highs as price slides below $65K
In brief
- Bitcoin network activity index exceeds long-term trend for first time since mid-2024.
- Small transactions under 0.01 BTC and OP_RETURN usage drive rebound, not large settlements.
- Daily transaction counts doubled from 2025 lows, reaching near 800,000 at peak.
Network Activity Surges Despite Price Decline
CryptoQuant's Bitcoin Network Activity Index moved above its long-term trend for the first time since mid-2024. The index has climbed steadily since January and recently reached its highest level since late 2024, leaving it only approximately 7% below the record reached in September 2024. The shift began in late March and has held for several weeks, suggesting the rebound in activity is more than a one-off spike.
Total daily Bitcoin transactions have risen above 800,000 at points in 2026, near the strongest readings of the 2023-2025 cycle. More than double the lows seen in 2025. This surge reflects a fundamental shift in how the network is being used.
Small Transactions Drive the Rebound
The network rebound is being driven mainly by transaction counts rather than large-value settlement. Transactions worth less than 0.01 BTC now account for about 80% of daily Bitcoin transaction counts, up from roughly 44% in 2023. The smallest cohorts, including transactions below 0.001 BTC and below 0.01 BTC, have surged in 2026 and are approaching the previous peak reached in 2024.
This shift coincides with a sharp increase in OP_RETURN usage. OP_RETURN outputs have climbed to near-record levels in 2026, with the increase linked to activity from Runes, Ordinals, BRC-20-style markets, and other data-writing services. These protocols use Bitcoin's blockchain to record data, not to move value in the traditional sense.
Mempool Pressure Builds
The Bitcoin mempool transaction count has risen to about 128,000, the highest since late February 2025. Average transactions per block have also climbed, showing sustained block use from a transaction-count perspective.
"Bitcoin is being used more. But the use is concentrated in small transactions that differ from the financial transfers many investors associate with durable network demand." — CryptoQuant analysis
The divergence between network activity and price underscores a key tension in Bitcoin's market narrative. Rising transaction counts suggest genuine engagement and use cases. Yet the composition of those transactions—heavily weighted toward small transfers and data inscriptions—differs from the settlement and store-of-value activity that typically drives investor confidence during bull cycles.
