A recent report from Glassnode indicates a shift in Bitcoin network activity, with declining transaction counts despite rising settlement volumes, pointing to increased institutional involvement.
Decline in Transaction Counts
According to Glassnode, the daily transactions of Bitcoin have decreased from peaks of over 730,000 to a range between 320,000 and 500,000 in 2025. This is mainly due to a sharp decline in non-monetary transactions like Inscriptions and Runes. 'Since the start of 2025, non-monetary activity has significantly declined, heavily contributing to the recent contraction in overall network throughput.'
Changes in Transaction Sizes
The analysis shows an increase in the average transaction size, which has risen to around $36,000. Transactions above $100,000 now account for 89% of the network's volume, up from 66% in 2022. 'This trend implies that larger entities continue to utilize the Bitcoin network, with throughput per transaction rising even as overall activity by count declines.'
Market Sentiment Dynamics
In light of these changes, Santiment reports a divergence between 'elite' and 'mortal' wallet activities. 'When large wallets accumulate as retail loses confidence, this is historically the right combination for bullish momentum to inevitably return to crypto markets.' The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has also returned to neutral, indicating sideways movement for the asset.
Thus, current data reveals that despite the rising prices of Bitcoin, there is a changing structure of participation in the network, where large entities are becoming more dominant while retail investors exhibit caution.
