The Bitcoin network has reached a significant milestone, processing over 1 billion transactions since its inception in January 2009. The milestone was achieved on May 5, 2024, at 9:34 pm UTC, when transaction 1,000,000,000 was processed in block 842,241, according to data from Clark Moody’s Bitcoin dashboard.
TLDR
- Bitcoin has processed over 1 billion transactions in its 15-year history, achieving the milestone on May 5, 2024.
- The network has processed an average of 178,475 daily transactions since its inception.
- Ethereum, Bitcoin’s main rival, has already processed well over 2 billion transactions since its launch in 2015.
- Recent protocols like Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes have attracted increased activity on the Bitcoin blockchain.
- A Satoshi-era Bitcoin address came to life on the same day as the 1 billion transaction milestone, moving 687 BTC valued at $43.9 million.
Over its 5,603-day existence, the Bitcoin network has processed an average of 178,475 daily transactions. While this is a remarkable achievement, it is important to note that the count does not include transactions made on the Lightning Network, a Bitcoin layer-2 payment protocol enabling faster transactions.
Estimates suggest that the Lightning Network alone processed 6.6 million transactions in August 2023, indicating that hundreds of millions of transactions have been made on Lightning since its launch in January 2018.
Bitcoin’s daily transaction count spiked around the network’s fourth halving event on April 20, with a record high of 926,000 transactions processed on April 23. Much of this demand came from the launch of the Runes protocol at block 840,000. However, Bitcoin’s daily transaction count has since cooled off to 660,260 on May 4.
Despite being the oldest cryptocurrency network, Bitcoin is not the first to process 1 billion transactions. Its main rival, Ethereum, which launched in July 2015, has already processed well over 2 billion transactions, according to Etherscan data.
The milestone comes at an exciting time for Bitcoin, as novel protocols like Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes have attracted increased activity on the world’s first blockchain over the past year. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs has also led to bullish sentiment for the token.
Interestingly, on the same day that Bitcoin reached the 1 billion transaction milestone, a Satoshi-era Bitcoin address came to life after a decade of dormancy.
The wallet, which once held 687 BTC (valued at $43.9 million), saw its contents split and transferred to two distinct addresses. Blockchain investigator Lookonchain reported that the whale first received the 687.33 BTC on Jan. 12, 2014, when the price was $917.
A wallet that has been dormant for 10.3 years transferred all 687.33 $BTC($43.94M) out 10 mins ago.
The whale received 687.33 $BTC($630K at that time) on Jan 12, 2014, when the price was $917.
Address: 15WZNLACuvcDrrBL2btDErJggnaMQtHh5G pic.twitter.com/tEPqM0CrrK
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 6, 2024
As Bitcoin continues its journey towards the next billion transactions, it is evident that the cryptocurrency has come a long way since its early days.
The network’s ability to process transactions securely and without a centralized intermediary has been a key factor in its success. While Bitcoin may not be the fastest blockchain in terms of transaction processing, its resilience and longevity have solidified its position as a leading cryptocurrency.
Here’s to another billion!
