Blockchain data shows that the total number of transactions processed on the Bitcoin network surpassed half a billion this month.
At a time in which the price of BTC moves towards the $10,000 mark after surpassing $9,500 for the first time this month, the number of transactions that have been processed on the Bitcoin blockchain hit a major milestone. Data from CryptoCompare, via IntoTheBlock, confirms the 500 millionth transaction was processed yesterday, February 5.
The number of transactions on BTC’s blockchain has been growing rapidly, as in 2017 it had crossed 250 million before earlier crossing 500 million. At this rate, the one billion transaction mark could be surpassed in under two years.
As reported earlier this year, a total of $2.5 trillion worth of BTC were transacted on the bitcoin network last year alone. On social media, users celebrated the milestone, which is seen as bullish for the flagship cryptocurrency and the crypto ecosystem as a whole.
Today, as of block 00000000000000000001145bf2e7cb7f04df55feaf3b55d9f6511522bbbf333f at height 616064, Bitcoin surpassed 500 million transactions confirmed on the blockchain. https://t.co/eVLbYnHohj
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 5, 2020
Given bitcoin’s price performance so far this year various analysts have started adoption a bullish approach. Some, like Wall Street analyst and bitcoin permabull Tom Lee, predicted significant gains for 2020. Lee, as CryptoGlobe reported, said that if bitcoin breaks its 200-day MA it could see its price grow nearly 200% in the next six months.
It’s worth noting that bitcoin’s hashrate has also recently hit a new all-time high above 123 million TH/s. Its hashrate has been rising ahead of the upcoming halving – which will cut block rewards from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC per block – as miners compete to accumulate as much as possible before inflation reduces.
Data from Google Trends shows that searches for the bitcoin halving event have been surging since the beginning of the year, as it’s a highly anticipated one in the community. Bitcoin has been through two halvings in the past, cutting its block rewards to 25 BTC in 2012 and to 12.5 BTC in 2016 respectively.
