Bitcoin (BTC) Fees Down by 33%, Here's Why

Bitcoin ($BTC) outflow from exchanges continues amid the rocketing popularity of spot ETFs in the U.S. Meanwhile, the BRC-20 euphoria lost its traction by mid-March 2024.

Bitcoin ($BTC) fees lost 33%: Key reason

Bitcoin ($BTC), the largest blockchain network, sees its aggregated transaction fees plunging by 33.1% in the last days. Such estimation was shared by blockchain data analytics platform IntoTheBlock in its latest weekly newsletter.

Bitcoin ($BTC) fees witnessed a significant plunge due to decreasing activity of BRC-20 tokens or Bitcoin Ordinals. Compared to NFTs in programmable blockchains, these extremely cost-ineffective tokens contributed to a $BTC fees upsurge in Q3, 2023.

Meanwhile, $700 million worth of $BTC was withdrawn from CEXes as spot ETFs in the U.S. continue setting records. As of March 16, 2024, they accumulated over $12 billion in liquidity from institutional investors.

Fees on Ethereum ($ETH), the second-largest blockchain, set a yearly high for the second consecutive week, with the Uniswap (UNI) exchange leading in terms of gas consumption.

However, the outflow of $ETH from exchanges — which is a major indicator of bullish sentiment — is lagging behind that of the Bitcoin ($BTC) network.

Crypto correction coming: Indicators by IntoTheBlock

Also, the analysts shared a number of very alarming signals for Bitcoin ($BTC) and altcoins holders. Markets might be overheated as funding rates on derivatives exchanges jumped to multi-month highs.

Funding rates on Binance and Bybit reached levels of 0.06% and 0.09%, respectively. The APY rates on stablecoin-based investing products also increased, which signals about overheated markets as well.

The dynamics of DeFi lends are sending similar messages: Aave Finance (AAVE) increased its debt ratio by 114% in the last year.