The Bitcoin network has experienced a significant decline in its average block size and transaction rates, coinciding with a fall in price to around $64,100.
The drop in block size — the measure of transaction data included in each block — indicates a sharp fall in Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain activity, which hit a yearly low on June 7.
The network’s transaction per second (TPS) rate simultaneously declined in June, indicating a reduction in activity and potentially reduced miner profitability due to decreased post-halving BTC block rewards.
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Halving implications
The BTC halving event occurred in April and reduced block rewards by 50% for miners, effectively decreasing profits and incentives to contribute to the blockchain’s activity.
Reaching highs of around 28 TPS and lows of below 4.5 TPS through June, the average TPS at the time of writing was 9.12 TPS.
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Runes tell a different story
Despite the current state of the BTC blockchain, the performance of the Runes minting market provides further insight into the Runes ecosystem and the network as a whole.
According to an X post from Leonidas on June 19, the Runes minting market remains profitable and reflects continued strong user activity on the BTC blockchain.
The secondary market performance of the top 10 largest Runes mints has ranged significantly from as low as -82.76% to as high as +1,194.42%, indicating continued strong market activity.
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Bitcoin market ebb and flow
The recent drop in price and coincidental fall in network activity could just be the start of a prolonged correction.
Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently discussed the potential continued correction of BTC forming “clusters of price action near the Range High resistance at ~$71,600.”
According to the analyst, on June 17, BTC was “getting very 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 noticeable differences can be seen between the closing price on one day and the opening price the following day.
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