The Bitcoin network has seen a significant decrease in its average block size and transaction rates, accompanied by a drop in price to approximately $64,100.
The decline in block size, which measures the transaction data included in each block, indicates a sharp decrease in Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain activity, reaching a yearly low on June 7.
The network’s transaction per second (TPS) rate also dropped in June, signaling a reduction in activity and potentially lower miner profitability following the halving of BTC block rewards.
The BTC halving event in April reduced block rewards by 50%, impacting profits and incentives for miners to contribute to blockchain activity. The average TPS fluctuated between highs of around 28 TPS and lows of below 4.5 TPS throughout June, currently standing at 9.12 TPS.
Despite the state of the BTC blockchain, the performance of the Runes minting market offers insight into the Runes ecosystem and the network overall. According to a post from Leonidas on June 19, the Runes minting market remains profitable, reflecting strong user activity on the BTC blockchain.
The secondary market performance of the top 10 largest Runes mints has varied significantly from -82.76% to +1,194.42%, indicating ongoing robust market activity.
The recent price drop and decline in network activity could mark the beginning of a prolonged correction. Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently discussed the potential for BTC to form “clusters of price action near the Range High resistance at ~$71,600.”
On June 17, BTC was close to retesting the $64,000 and $62,500 levels, identified as daily Chicago Mercantile Exchange gaps. These gaps represent areas in the price chart where differences are noticeable between the closing price on one day and the opening price the next day.