Excluding Dec. 1, daily transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain experienced a steep decline as the month unfolded. Between Dec. 2 and Dec. 31, a total of 12,105,415 transactions were recorded. Despite the drop, on Dec. 5, the network achieved a record high for the total dollar value of transactions processed in a single day in 2024.
High-Value Transactions Outshine Declining Transfers
Last year, the Bitcoin blockchain saw its busiest day on Apr. 23, when daily confirmed transactions hit an all-time high of 927,010. On Sept. 8, another high point came with 910,083 transactions processed in a single day. By late Nov. 2024, however, activity had slowed significantly. The last standout spike for confirmed transactions was on Nov. 19, with 810,805 recorded. By Dec. 1, that figure had fallen to 698,223.
Bitcoin transaction count during the course of 2024.
Daily confirmed transfers didn’t climb above 524,000 for the remainder of December. From Dec. 2 through Dec. 31, excluding the month’s first day, the average settled at 403,514 daily transactions. On Jan. 1, 2025, the Bitcoin mempool held 177,548 unconfirmed transactions. While transaction numbers dipped, the rising value of BTC pushed December’s transactional value to the highest of the year.
Onchain volume in December including change outputs across 53,473 confirmed blocks.
On Dec. 5, the Bitcoin blockchain settled $144.10 billion, marking the single largest day of 2024. December also claimed the top spot for monthly settlements with a staggering $2.25 trillion transacted. Even with these milestones, the activity still couldn’t rival the record-breaking levels seen in 2021. For instance, on Nov. 16, 2021, $774.34 billion changed hands on the blockchain in just one day. Four of the top five single-day transaction values were set in 2021, with one standout day in 2022 breaking the pattern.
While December 2024’s $2.25 trillion was impressive, it paled in comparison to November 2021, which saw a jaw-dropping $8.23 trillion settled. Following that were October 2021 ($6.79T), September 2021 ($6.59T), April 2022 ($6.28T), and December 2021 ($5.37T), culminating in $33.29 trillion across those five months. Throughout the entirety of 2024, $19.02 trillion was settled on the Bitcoin blockchain. It’s worth noting that the total of $19.02 trillion also accounts for change outputs. According to estimates by researchers at Coin Metrics, once you filter out these change outputs, approximately $6.6 trillion was actually settled on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Top five days include change outputs.
Though December 2024 saw fewer transactions, the sheer value transferred highlighted a shift in network behavior. With $2.25 trillion settled, the focus moved from transaction volume to high-value transfers. This trend hints at a changing dynamic in Bitcoin usage, with emphasis on fewer, value-rich transactions—a stark contrast to the bustling activity of previous years.
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