According to onchain data from IntoTheBlock, the percentage of active Bitcoin addresses has dropped to its lowest level since November 2010.
In June, the weekly active wallet ratio dropped to a low of 1.22% and peaked at 1.32%. This month’s highest rate was last seen in November 2010.
Additionally, the total number of active wallets has hit a multi-year low. The week of May 27 recorded 614,770 active wallets, the lowest number since December 2018.
The falling active address ratio shows a lack of trading activity among Bitcoin BTC holders, hinting at a period of market consolidation.
Juan Pellicer, senior researcher at IntoTheBlock, attributed the decline in wallet activity to weaker retail participation compared to previous cycles.
“This year’s rally to all-time highs was driven by institutional capital rather than retail investors,” Pellicer said.
“The broader economic situation may have played a role in retailers not investing as much in cryptocurrency as they have in the past.”
Active rates fell as investors braced for a period of increased whale activity, including the planned Mt. Gox to begin distributing payments to creditors in July.
Some larger holders, including those linked to the government, have also participated in the selling activities.
“Due to this concentration, much of the discount trading activity is being done off-chain which does not significantly impact on-chain address activity statistics,” Pellicer added.
Runes in trouble?
The drop in activity could be contrasted with the launch of Runes, a fungible token protocol introduced into the Bitcoin ecosystem in conjunction with the recent halving in April.
Runes was expected to provide an alternative revenue channel for miners, which it did on day one as miners collected record high transaction fees on halving day.
However, transaction fees have returned to normal pre-halving levels as miner reserves, representing new Bitcoin held by miners, are also at a 14-year low.
Activity on Runes has cooled, Pellicer said, although given the cyclical nature of such assets, their current state represents a temporary slowdown rather than a permanent decline.
Meanwhile, recent attention on cryptocurrencies has focused on memecoins and celebrity tokens, attracting speculators betting on bigger returns.
Although Bitcoin is known for its volatility, its current state can be considered stable when compared to lower-cap memecoins.
Jia Baoyu
According to Cointelegraph
