Despite the market downturn, the number of new addresses on the Bitcoin network has reached a two-month high, with the 7-day moving average (7DMA) reaching over 317,000 new addresses on Friday, July 5. This increase is particularly notable: Bitcoin
+2.73%
During the same period, prices fell more than 10%.
To put this into perspective, at the beginning of last week the 7DMA stood at just 263,000 new addresses, representing a significant 20% increase per week.
So what does this mean for the Bitcoin network?
You might think that an increase in the number of new addresses on a network would lead to increased activity, right? Well, not necessarily.
Bitcoin’s 7-day moving average of average transaction fees hit a low of just $1.75. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s 7-day moving average of average transaction fees is $2.50. For reference, just three months ago, Bitcoin’s 7DMA of average transaction fees was more than 10 times higher than Ethereum’s.
The total fees paid on Bitcoin were also significantly lower than on Ethereum, with the seven-day moving average of total fees paid on the network being just $1 million, or a third of Ethereum’s. This is a notable downfall for the Bitcoin network.
This discrepancy highlights an interesting dynamic within the Bitcoin network: new participants are joining, but this does not necessarily lead to higher transaction fees or increased on-chain activity right away.
This is an excerpt from The Block’s Data & Insights newsletter, where we dig into the numbers that make up the industry’s most thought-provoking trends.
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