The number of Litecoin transactions hits a record high ──The popularity of BRC-20 tokens has affected Bitcoin transaction fees soaring | coindesk JAPAN | Coindesk Japan

The number of Litecoin (LTC) blockchain transactions has surged to a record high. Memecoins (crypto assets that originate from internet memes and have no inherent utility) are growing in popularity, Bitcoin blockchain transaction fees are soaring, and cryptocurrency (virtual currency) users are scrambling to find alternatives. It’s for

Litecoin executed more than 520,000 transactions on May 8, according to BitInfoCharts blockchain data. Bitcoin is nearing 575,000 transactions per day. Compared to the average number of transactions on the Litecoin blockchain, it is five times higher than it was at the beginning of the year and more than doubled the all-time high reached near the peak of the January 2018 bull market.

BRC-20 token popularity

The growth comes at a time when the Bitcoin blockchain has been overwhelmed by the growing popularity of tokens conforming to the BRC-20 standard, so-called “BRC-20 tokens”. The BRC-20 standard is a recently introduced standard that allows users to create and transfer tokens on the Ordinals protocol using the Bitcoin blockchain.

With the popularity of the BRC-20 token, transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain have surpassed levels seen in May 2021, when the Bitcoin (BTC) price hit a then-high of about $64,000. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, temporarily suspended bitcoin withdrawals early in the morning of the 8th.

Congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain has prompted users to urgently need lower-fee alternatives such as stablecoins and the Lightning Network.

Litecoin has also become one of the alternative options. Data from blockchain data analytics firm Glassnode shows that the number of active wallet addresses rose to a record high of 718,000 on the 8th, along with a record number of transactions.

Citing Glassnode data, the Litecoin Foundation tweeted that crypto users created about 500,000 new Litecoin addresses in a single day.

New addresses being created on #Litecoin are now exceeding new #Bitcoin addresses. $LTC #MondayMotivation #crypto pic.twitter.com/NNJ4RfXeD6

— Litecoin Foundation (@LTCFoundation) May 8, 2023

The native cryptocurrency of the Litecoin blockchain, Litecoin, is up about 3.5% over the past 24 hours, near $80. It has outperformed Bitcoin, which is up about 1%.

｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Rinan Hayashi
| Image: Litecoin sticker (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)
｜Original: Litecoin Transactions Hit Record High as Bitcoin Fees Surge Amid BRC-20 Frenzy