The recent increase, in Bitcoins transaction fees and the resulting high earnings for miners mainly driven by inscription based transfers is a development in the world of cryptocurrencies. On December 16 2023 the fees for Bitcoin transactions reached a peak of $40 per transaction surpassing the high of $31 per transfer recorded on May 8 2023. This rise in fees has led to profits for miners.
The sharp surge in transaction fees can be attributed to the growing popularity of Bitcoin BTC 1.82% Ordinal inscriptions, which are approaching a milestone of 50 million. Approximately 48,754,694 inscriptions have been marked on the blockchain far. On December 16th miners received over 235 BTC for these inscriptions making it the highest day in terms of BTC volume. Consequently miners earned a record breaking $9.97 million within a day significantly surpassing the high of $7.21 million set on May 8th.
These high fees have sparked a debate within the Bitcoin community. The impact of Ordinals, on transaction costs has become an issue; some argue that double digit fees may become common moving forward.
In response, to this situation many people are suggesting the adoption of layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network. The goal is to address the issue of transaction costs and make it easier for more people to use and embrace these solutions.
The reason behind the increase in miner earnings on December 16 can be attributed to the rising value of Bitcoin. Specifically on May 8 2023 one unit of BTC had a closing price of $27,668. However by December 17 2023 it fluctuated between $41,668 and $42,666. Since December 16 2022 there have been, around 48.75 million transactions recorded. As a result of confirming these transactions miners have earned over 4,084 BTC or approximately $170.68 million.