As the bitcoin bull run of 2017 and 2018 saw the vast majority of those engaging with the cryptocurrency focusing on the price, other statistics about the Bitcoin network’s popularity and usage became less studied.
Data from DataLight however, reveal some interesting features about Bitcoin when compared to the preeminent payment processing networks – VISA, MasterCard and PayPal.
Network Transactions Per Second
In terms of transactions per second, it’s clear that Bitcoin lags substantially behind the other platforms in terms of bandwidth capacity, with Bitcoin’s 7 transactions per second dwarfed by those of VISA and MasterCard.
Yearly Transactions
As shown below, between 2017 and 2018 while the other platforms saw significant growth in the number of yearly transactions, Bitcoin saw a substantial decline, unquestionably due to the crypto bear market following the trading and buying frenzy of late 2017.
While it’s clear that Bitcoin still has some way to go – with the Lightning Network positioned to improve these numbers – it’s important to see where the network stands today, as the network of the future is built.
