This month, the Polkadot multichain protocol has registered a significant increase in activity on its network.

According to the analysis of Token Terminal data, for the period from December 18 to December 25, the weekly amount of commissions paid for transactions on the main network (Relay Chain) reached a historical maximum of $2.6 million.

This significant jump was 1,218% compared to the previous week.

It should be noted that the Relay Chain, Polkadot's core network, serves as a protocol management layer, providing security, management and communication between various blockchain parachains that operate in parallel with the main network.

This increase in fees was accompanied by a more than twofold increase in the number of active users. On average, during the mentioned week, about 15.3 thousand users connected to the network daily.

Apparently, however, the reason for this growth was the Inscriptions.

As a well-known cryptanalyst known as Emperor Osmo points out, this surge in activity, as in the case of other blockchains, was caused by increased interest in so-called Inscriptions.

Inscriptions work by adding images and other data directly to the blockchain. They can be used to create unique digital assets such as non-interchangeable tokens (NFTs) and decentralized applications (dApps).

At first, Inscriptions became popular on the bitcoin network, and then this concept was introduced by other networks of the first (L1) and second (L2) levels. As a result, Inscriptions became the main factor in the increase in the number of transactions and fees in December on a variety of blockchains.

It should also be noted that part of the fees charged on the network are transferred to the holders of DOT tokens who participate in the management of the protocol. With the increase in commissions, the demand for DOT has also increased.

According to CoinMarketCap, over the past week, DOT has grown by 14.65%, and since the beginning of December, its value has almost doubled, amounting to about 57%.

This price increase has attracted great interest from the general public. Users of the leading cryptocurrency social networks have become much more active in discussing this token, according to CoinMarketCap.

The uptrend has also attracted the attention of speculative traders. Open interest in DOT has increased by 26% over the past week, indicating an influx of new capital into the derivatives market.