How has the Bitcoin network evolved in 2024?
This article presents key metrics regarding Bitcoin for the year 2024. It serves as a valuable resource for individuals seeking keywords to enhance their understanding of the cryptocurrency and its current standing in the financial landscape.
The visual representation features a large, three-dimensional Bitcoin symbol, celebrating the year 2024 with bold lettering underneath. The design follows a comic book style, prominently featuring the colors orange, green, and black. A backdrop of a vibrant forest of green candles symbolizes a flourishing stock market, reflecting Bitcoin’s strong performance as an asset this year.
Bitcoin is on a path to global dominance. For those interested in the previous year, a retrospective for 2023 is available at: Bitcoin – 2023 in figures.
The insights shared in this article arise from the annual report by cypherpunk Jameson Lopp. The English version, complete with supporting graphics, can be accessed via a designated link.
El Salvador's leading position is expected and draws little surprise. However, Switzerland’s inclusion is noteworthy. The "Plan B Initiative" in Lugano and the absence of capital gains tax likely contribute to this trend. It raises the question of when France will adopt similar policies, as taxes on prudent savings should not be imposed.
Nigeria's significant interest in Bitcoin stems from an alarming inflation rate of 34%. In such economic conditions, those without property face severe challenges, making Bitcoin an appealing option.
Bitcoin’s revolutionary nature lies in its accessibility; it is possible to acquire Bitcoin without significant wealth. This contrasts sharply with traditional anti-inflation assets like luxury real estate, valuable artwork, and investments in the S&P 500. Bitcoin represents a savings tool for everyone, especially those from lower economic backgrounds.
Another compelling metric is the volume of tweets containing the term "Bitcoin." In 2024, there were an astonishing 140 million tweets on the platform X, marking a 65% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the well-known Reddit forum r/Bitcoin experienced a 25% growth, surpassing 7.47 million members.
The Lightning Network has made advancements in 2024, introducing features like Bolt 12. However, the most reliable statistics continue to be derived from on-chain data. On average, Bitcoin transactions amounted to $9.3 billion per day, a staggering increase of nine times compared to 2023.
While transaction volumes surged, the total transaction count also escalated. The figure has reached approximately 18 million transactions, significantly higher than the eight million average recorded between 2017 and early 2023.
It is important to note that a portion of these transactions relates to the trending practice of registering large, arbitrary data (such as ordinals). This topic will be revisited in the section dedicated to network security. The popularity of ordinals has been accompanied by increased transaction fees for miners and mining pools, bringing in an average of $2.5 million per day—an increase of 25%.
In a remarkable achievement, a consecutive series of 104 blocks was recorded, wherein the transaction fees collected surpassed the rewards from the protocol, which is 3,125 BTC per block. However, fees represented only 5% of the total miner revenue for the entire year of 2024.