Protocol data

How much of Bitcoin's daily transaction volume is Alkanes, alongside how much of all Bitcoin transactions carry an OP_RETURN at all — Alkanes activity tracks the broader OP_RETURN trend closely.

Of every Bitcoin transaction that carries an OP_RETURN, 97.9% are Alkanes (last 30 days), and they account for 95.2% of all OP_RETURN data bytes. This is Alkanes' grip on OP_RETURN itself — independent of how many BTC tx use OP_RETURN at all.

This is the literal block space Alkanes occupy — transaction weight, the unit Bitcoin's block limit is actually denominated in (not byte counts, not transaction counts). Alkanes were 15.2% of all block weight over the period and 61.7% on the last measured day. This is the honest "how much of Bitcoin is Alkanes" answer: by weight they are still a minority of block space, far below their share of transaction count (most Alkanes tx are tiny DIESEL mints). Measured directly from each transaction's weight via a metashrew/alkanes-rs indexer.

The same question answered four ways, overlaid: Alkanes' share of Bitcoin by transaction count, by OP_RETURN data bytes, by block weight, and by miner fee revenue. By count Alkanes loom large (mostly tiny DIESEL mints); by weight and by fees they are a much smaller slice — the honest answer depends on the yardstick.

How this is calculated. Last day = Jul 26 (Bitcoin blocks 959,623–959,676, 54 sampled). Of 247,846 transactions carrying an OP_RETURN that day, 245,577 were Alkanes → 99.1%. Share = Alkanes OP_RETURN tx ÷ all OP_RETURN tx. A transaction counts as Alkanes when one of its OP_RETURN outputs decodes as a Runestone whose protostone carries protocol_tag = 1.

DIESEL, the genesis alkane, is minted directly on Bitcoin — this tracks how much of all Bitcoin transaction volume is DIESEL mints on their own, separate from other Alkanes activity.

DIESEL was born at block 880,000 on Jan 20 2025. This is the raw volume — estimated mints per day (sampled blocks × 144) — on a log scale so the early days stay visible: from a handful a day in early 2025 to a peak around 551,346/day. The take-off in Aug–Sep 2025 is when DIESEL minting exploded (and began riding UNCOMMON•GOODS).

The running total of estimated DIESEL mints since genesis (block 880,000, Jan 20 2025) — the sum of the daily birth curve above. The curve steepens through 2025 as minting accelerated.

UNCOMMON•GOODS (Rune 1:0) rides along on almost every DIESEL mint. Of all UNCOMMON•GOODS mints each day, the share that are also DIESEL climbed from 0.0% early on to 99.7% recently (71.3% over the whole period): when you see an UNCOMMON•GOODS mint today, it is almost always DIESEL "wearing Runes clothing." Detected as a runestone whose mint is Rune 1:0 on a DIESEL (cellpack 2:0 op 77) transaction.

Almost every DIESEL mint also mints UNCOMMON•GOODS (Rune 1:0). This splits daily UNCOMMON•GOODS mints into the DIESEL-driven ones vs genuinely independent Runes — DIESEL has come to dominate the count. (Raw counts in the sampled blocks.)

Of all OP_RETURN data bytes, the share written by Alkanes vs by Runes that are not Alkanes (Runestones without an Alkanes protostone). Alkanes have overtaken Runes on Bitcoin's OP_RETURN byte budget.

The same comparison in absolute terms — estimated OP_RETURN bytes per day (sampled blocks × 144) for Alkanes vs non-Alkanes Runes, on a log scale so both early and recent volumes stay readable.

How the OP_RETURN byte budget splits between Alkanes, non-Alkanes Runes and everything else, day by day — the moving version of the since-genesis donut above.

Of every transaction that carries a Runestone, the share that is Alkanes (a protostone with protocol_tag = 1) vs Runes (non-Alkanes) — a Runestone with no Alkanes protostone. Runes owned this at genesis; today Alkanes are the overwhelming majority of Runestone transactions.

The same split in absolute terms — estimated Runestone transactions per day (sampled blocks scaled to a full 144-block day), on a log scale so both the early Runes-dominated days and today's Alkanes volume stay readable.

Alkanes are Runes — each Alkanes transaction carries its protostone inside a Runestone, so Alkanes and Other Runes together are all the Runestones. Share of all OP_RETURN data written to Bitcoin since the DIESEL genesis block (880,000, Jan 20 2025), measured in bytes, not transaction count. The Alkanes share is a floor: the Runestone envelope bytes of Alkanes transactions are credited to Other Runes.

Alkanes' OP_RETURN payload is small and stable (~21.6 bytes/tx), while the rest of OP_RETURN traffic is larger and more volatile — Alkanes are byte-efficient on-chain. (Bytes = full OP_RETURN output script.)

Daily revenue extrapolates the sampled blocks to a full day and adds the 3.125 BTC/block subsidy, converted to USD at that day's BTC price. The USD swings here are mostly the BTC price — the activity-driven part of miner income is the fees, shown next in BTC.

The block subsidy is a fixed 3.125 BTC/block, so the part of miner income that grows with on-chain activity is the fees. This shows daily fees in BTC, split into what Alkanes transactions paid vs everything else — so you can see Alkanes' real contribution to miners' BTC earnings as Alkanes activity grows. Subsidy excluded.

By fee revenue — what miners actually earn from fees — Alkanes are 14.2% over the last 30 days (4.1% over the full tracked period), far below their share of transaction count, because most Alkanes tx are tiny DIESEL mints that pay little. All OP_RETURN traffic together pays 16.6% of fee revenue over the same 30 days (8.6% full period). (Subsidy excluded here; fees only.)

Average fee paid per transaction, in sats, split between Alkanes transactions and everyone else. Alkanes tx are mostly small DIESEL mints that pay modest fees, so per transaction they typically sit below the rest of Bitcoin's traffic — the mirror image of their share by transaction count. (Per-day fees ÷ tx count in each bucket; subsidy excluded.)