According to onchain data from IntoTheBlock, the ratio of active Bitcoin addresses has fallen to its lowest level since November 2010.
In June, the weekly active wallet ratio hit a low of 1.22%, peaking at 1.32%. This highest ratio for the month was last observed in November 2010.
Moreover, the total number of active wallets has dropped to multi-year lows. As of the week ending May 27, there were 614,770 active wallets, marking the lowest count since December 2018.
The declining ratio of active addresses indicates reduced buying and selling activity among holders, signaling a period of market consolidation.
Juan Pellicer, a senior researcher at IntoTheBlock, attributes Bitcoin’s decreasing wallet activity rate to lower retail participation compared to previous cycles.
“This year’s surge to a new all-time high was propelled by institutional capital rather than retail investors,” Pellicer told Cointelegraph.
“The broader economic conditions may have influenced retail investors to make fewer crypto investments than they have in the past.”
The decline in activity rate coincides with investors preparing for increased movements by large holders, such as the Mt. Gox trustee set to begin distributing payments to creditors in July.
Additionally, some major holders, including those associated with governments, have been observed engaging in selling activities.
“Because of this concentration, a significant portion of bearish trading activity is occurring offchain, which doesn’t heavily influence onchain address activity statistics,” Pellicer explains.
Are Runes facing difficulties?
The decrease in activity may seem surprising given the introduction of Runes, a fungible token protocol integrated into the Bitcoin ecosystem alongside the latest halving event in April.
Runes aimed to offer miners an additional revenue stream, successfully generating record-high trading fees for miners on the day of the halving.
However, transaction fees have since returned to pre-halving levels as miner reserves, representing the new Bitcoin held by miners, have also dropped to their lowest levels in 14 years.
Pellicer informed Cointelegraph that activity on Runes has slowed down. However, given the cyclical nature of such assets, the current downturn is viewed as temporary rather than a permanent decline.
Meanwhile, recent attention in the crypto space has shifted towards memecoins and celebrity tokens, attracting speculators chasing potentially higher returns.
While Bitcoin is known for its volatility, its current stability contrasts with the fluctuations seen in lower-cap memecoins.
