Bitcoin dominated by big fish

Bitcoin, according to TradingView data, is currently above the psychologically important threshold of $100,000, putting it just 6% below the all-time high of $112,000. We would expect such price development to be accompanied by increased network activity, but according to Glassnode analysis, the opposite is happening – on-chain activity is stagnating or even declining.

⚠️ The Bitcoin Paradox
📈 $100K+
Price Rising
📉 Declining
Network Activity

Bitcoin Holds Above $100,000, But Activity Retreats

📊 Current Market Position

$100K+
Current Price
6%
Below ATH
$112K
All-Time High

According to the analysis, since the beginning of 2025, the number of daily transactions has significantly decreased. While during 2023 and 2024 we saw transaction growth up to 734,000 daily, currently only between 320,000 to 500,000 transactions are processed daily.

2023-2024 Peak
734,000
Daily Transactions
Current 2025
320K-500K
Daily Transactions
This difference points to a paradoxical trend where price rises but network usage decreases.

🔍 What This Decline Means

The significant drop in daily transactions on the Bitcoin network may signal lower real usage of Bitcoin by regular users. Despite rising prices, declining activity suggests people are holding Bitcoin more as an investment than using it for everyday transfers.

Investment vs. Usage
People holding rather than spending
Large Transaction Dominance
Network controlled by big players
Reduced Decentralization
Fewer small participants
Miner Revenue Impact
Lower fee income affects security

At the same time, it shows that the network is dominated by large transactions, which reduces the share of small users and may lead to lower decentralization. Fewer transactions also mean lower income for miners from fees, which could affect security and motivation to maintain the network in the future.

Network Dominated by Large Transactions, Small Ones Disappear

📊 Small Transaction Decline

The most visible sign of changes in Bitcoin user behavior is reduced activity of smaller transactions. So-called small players, who send smaller amounts, today represent only 11% of total transfer volume, while in December 2022 it was still 34%.

Small Transaction Market Share

34%
December 2022
11%
Current 2025

This decline is visible in every transaction subgroup:

$0 – $1,000
3.9% → 0.9%
$1,000 – $10,000
8.4% → 2.1%
$10,000 – $100,000
21.4% → 7.9%

These numbers suggest that the Bitcoin network is now used more for large transactions. This may reflect either increased institutional focus or declining interest from regular users.

🤔 Critical Questions

In conclusion, the current state of the Bitcoin network raises questions. While price is rising, the use of blockchain, which should support this growth, is stagnating. This disconnect between price and activity is something that will need to be monitored in the coming weeks and months.

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