According to Glassnode data, Runes transactions generated $117 million in cumulative Bitcoin network fee revenue post-halving, with $62.4 million amassed on the day of the halving itself.

However, this rise proved to be short-lived, recent data reveals that on April 28, Runes transactions only contributed $1.03 million in fees.

Runes Dominates Bitcoin Network Post-Halving

On April 20, the day of the halving, transaction fees within the Bitcoin network saw a notable spike. This surge was primarily linked to the implementation of the Runes protocol, leading to higher mining fees.

Runes transactions accounted for 57.7% share of all Bitcoin network transactions. Financial transactions trailed behind with a 41.5% share, while Ordinals and BRC-20 accounted for 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

This dominance persisted over the halving weekend, with Runes maintaining most of the network activity. On April 21, Runes transactions accounted for 51.6% of total transactions.

However, by April 22, this dominance began to decrease, dropping to 42.5%, while Bitcoin financial transactions claimed a larger portion, accounting for 56.5% of total transactions processed that day.

Following the #Bitcoin Halving, Rune Transactions have accrued a total of $117M in revenue fees, with a staggering $62.4M collected on the day of the halving.

However, a stark decline in revenue can be noted with the current Fees from Rune TXs residing at a value of $1.03M. pic.twitter.com/RpDnn4r88n

— glassnode (@glassnode) April 29, 2024

However, the situation has since changed, with transaction fees decreasing. Medium-priority transactions are now priced at approximately $8.48, while high-priority transactions are priced at around $9.321.

This marks a 75% decrease in fees compared to the immediate aftermath of the halving, which saw fees rise to $146 for a medium-priority transaction and $170 for a high-priority transaction.

Long Term Benefits

According to Bitcoin researcher Jade Ardinals, the increased load on the network was primarily caused by minting. Ardinals explained that speculation surrounding Runes caused a surge in minting activities, creating an “artificial” strain on Bitcoin block space.

Analysts anticipate that this pressure will diminish over time. However, they maintain that Runes will continue to attract more developers to Bitcoin.

Runes tokens have already captured a large portion of Bitcoin’s on-chain activity. According to Crypto Koryo’s Dune dashboard, on April 25, Runes tokens comprised 45% of all Bitcoin transactions.

Casey Rodarmor developed Bitcoin Runes to enhance the BRC-20 standard, known for its costly token creation and management on the blockchain due to its UTXO proliferation. Bitcoin faces challenges with accumulating unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), which strain the network and lead to performance issues.

Runes enables users to conduct more efficient transactions and create better-optimized tokens on Bitcoin by leveraging its UTXO format.

TL;DR

• Despite the recent market downturn and XRP’s price falling below $0.50, analysts like Dark Defender predict it could still reach highs of over $5 if key support levels are maintained.
• The outcome of the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC remains a critical factor for the asset’s future prospects, with recent court activities adding to the case’s complexity.

XRP Goals Remain Unchanged

Ripple’s XRP is among the severely-affected cryptocurrencies during the latest market correction, with its price tumbling by almost 10% weekly and dipping below the $0.50 mark for the first time since mid-April.

The popular analyst – Dark Defender – analyzed the asset’s recent performance, arguing that the chances of a new all-time high have not vaporized. The trader thinks XRP can still jump to a peak of $5.85 and later to a whopping $18.22 as long as it trades above the two major support levels – $0.46 and $0.39:

“As long as these are maintained our 5 Elliott Wave structure targeting $5.85 & $18.22 remains the same. And any further moves between $0.3917 to $0.6649 are side moves and are normal.”

Dark Defender also reiterated their forecast that the global cryptocurrency market capitalization could surpass $23 trillion by January 2025. XRP currently accounts for less than 1.2% of that share, meaning its price could rise to approximately $2.80 if the market cap explodes to that ridiculous level.

However, the analyst expects much more substantial gains, predicting that “most of the useless crypto assets will be vaporized” along the way, giving XRP extra room for growth.

Another X user who thinks Ripple’s native token is yet to experience a major bull run is EGRAG CRYPTO. The analyst presented a chart, which shows that XRP’s latest weekly candles have not dropped below a certain resistance zone.

“Remarkably, not even the body of the weekly candles is closing below the arc, which is incredibly bullish! XRP Army, STAY STEADY! The XRP bulls are showing remarkable resilience, strength, and power in this battle,” they concluded.

Awaiting for News on the Ripple v SEC Front

Perhaps the most important factor that may trigger an XRP rally is a positive outcome for Ripple in its legal battle against the US SEC. The trial between the two entities started a week ago, with some viewing the agency as the underdog due to the three partial court losses it suffered last year.

Instead of a resolution, though, the case keeps offering additional confrontation. Most recently, the SEC filed its opposition to Ripple’s motion to strike new expert materials. The agency claims that the testimony from a key witness should be taken into account, while the company previously maintained that the declaration represents an unsolicited expert opinion.

If you’re willing to learn more about the lawsuit and its potential impact on XRP’s value, please check our dedicated video below:

While Bitcoin has been recognized as a commodity, the same cannot be said for Ethereum’s status, which has been more ambiguous due to its initial coin offering (ICO) in 2014.

However, a new report suggests that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its chairman, Gary Gensler, seem to have believed that Ethereum is an unregistered security for a long period of time.

SEC and Gensler’s Beliefs Exposed

According to the latest FOX report, court documents filed by Consensys on April 29 stated that the SEC and Gensler seem to have believed for at least a year that Ether was an unregistered security and has been trading in violation of current federal regulations.

The latest development follows Consensys filing an unredacted complaint against the agency in a Texas federal court in response to receiving a “Wells notice,” which outlined the SEC’s plans to sue the Ethereum software firm for alleged violations of federal securities laws.

The filing indicated that the SEC began an investigation dubbed “Ethereum 2.0” due to its belief that potential sales of certain securities, including Ether, had occurred since at least 2018. If the asset were deemed a security by the Gensler-led SEC, it would contradict previous guidance given by former Chairman Jay Clayton.

In a now-infamous 2018 speech, the then-director of Corporation Finance Bill Hinman said that Ethereum, like Bitcoin, was not a security, which led the industry to believe the SEC would not regulate the top two cryptocurrencies, citing “sufficient decentralization.”

However, a year later, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) classified Ether as a commodity. Consensys, in its lawsuit, emphasized that it built its business under this regulatory clarity.

New filings reveal that the five-member commission approved the “Ethereum 2.0” investigation on April 13, 2023, just five days before Gensler appeared before the House Financial Services Committee, where he avoided questions from committee Chairman Patrick McHenry regarding Ethereum’s regulatory status.

The launch of the investigation was marked by unusual secrecy. The FOX report even claimed that the subpoena recipients were instructed to sign confidentiality agreements to receive information about the probes’ progress. It’s unclear why the SEC maintained such secrecy.

Consensys’ Lawsuit Against SEC

Consensys filed a lawsuit against the SEC last week regarding its handling of Ethereum regulation. The company claimed that the regulatory watchdog has classified Ether as a security and has targeted the firm’s Metamask software.

The complaint also mentioned that the SEC staff sent Consensys a Wells notice earlier this month, indicating the agency’s intention to take enforcement action. Consensys has maintained that it has cooperated with the SEC and even provided over 88,000 pages of documents in response to multiple subpoenas over the past year.

Consensys also argued that any investigation stemming from Ether being deemed a security would violate the company’s Fifth Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedures Act.