Bitcoin transaction fees flip Ethereum’s as Ordinals hype returns

Average daily transaction fees on Bitcoin (BTC $37,407) have flipped with Ethereum following a frenzy of Ordinals-related activity on the Bitcoin network. 

On Nov. 20, the average daily transaction fee for Bitcoin stood at $10.34, while Ethereum’s transaction fees came to an average of $8.43, according to BitInfoChart data.

Bitcoin’s average daily trading fee notched a new six-month high on Nov.16, reaching a peak of $18.67, while Ethereum fees reached $7.90.

Bitcoin’s average daily fees have surged above Ethereum’s in the last five days. Source: BitInfoCharts

The sudden uptick in Bitcoin transaction fees stems from a renewed market appetite for assets inscribed with the Ordinals Protocol — a tool for creating nonfungible token (NFT)-like assets and BRC-20 tokens on Bitcoin.

Following a significant lull in activity between Sept. 25 and Oct. 23, Ordinals-based assets saw a drastic uptick beginning in late October, per Dune Analytics data.

The number of Ordinals inscriptions grew by over 6 million since late October. Source: Dune Analytics

Since Oct. 24, over 6 million Ordinal assets have been created, resulting in more than 800 BTC in fees — worth $30 million — being redistributed to the network.

The uptick in Ordinals inscription activity compounded as ORDI, the second largest BRC-20 token by market cap, was listed on Binance on Nov. 7. The listing spurred a wider wave of BRC-20 buying activity from traders with the price of the ORDI token jumping by just over 50% on the day.

Additionally, on Nov. 17, the Ordinals-based project Taproot Wizards announced a $7.5 million seed round.