SUBFROST protocol data

How much of Bitcoin's daily transaction volume is Alkanes, alongside how much of all Bitcoin transactions carry an OP_RETURN at all — Alkanes activity tracks the broader OP_RETURN trend closely.

Of every Bitcoin transaction that carries an OP_RETURN, 98.3% are Alkanes (last 30 days), and they account for 95.8% of all OP_RETURN data bytes. This is Alkanes' grip on OP_RETURN itself — independent of how many BTC tx use OP_RETURN at all.

This is the literal block space Alkanes occupy — transaction weight, the unit Bitcoin's block limit is actually denominated in (not byte counts, not transaction counts). Alkanes were 23.8% of all block weight over the period and 53.3% on the last measured day. This is the honest "how much of Bitcoin is Alkanes" answer: by weight they are still a minority of block space, far below their share of transaction count (most Alkanes tx are tiny DIESEL mints). Measured directly from each transaction's weight via a metashrew/alkanes-rs indexer.

How this is calculated. Last day = Jul 3 (Bitcoin blocks 956,389–956,532, 24 sampled). Of 57,100 transactions carrying an OP_RETURN that day, 54,579 were Alkanes → 95.6%. Share = Alkanes OP_RETURN tx ÷ all OP_RETURN tx. A transaction counts as Alkanes when one of its OP_RETURN outputs decodes as a Runestone whose protostone carries protocol_tag = 1.

DIESEL, the genesis alkane, is minted directly on Bitcoin — this tracks how much of all Bitcoin transaction volume is DIESEL mints on their own, separate from other Alkanes activity.

UNCOMMON•GOODS (Rune 1:0) rides along on almost every DIESEL mint. Of all UNCOMMON•GOODS mints each day, the share that are also DIESEL climbed from 59.8% early on to 99.9% recently (76.8% over the whole period): when you see an UNCOMMON•GOODS mint today, it is almost always DIESEL "wearing Runes clothing." Detected as a runestone whose mint is Rune 1:0 on a DIESEL (cellpack 2:0 op 77) transaction.

Of all OP_RETURN data written to Bitcoin over the tracked period, the share that is Alkanes, Runes, and everything else — measured in bytes, not transaction count.

Alkanes' OP_RETURN payload is small and stable (~21.2 bytes/tx), while the rest of OP_RETURN traffic is larger and more volatile — Alkanes are byte-efficient on-chain. (Bytes = full OP_RETURN output script.)

Daily revenue extrapolates the sampled blocks to a full day and adds the 3.125 BTC/block subsidy, converted to USD at that day's BTC price. The USD swings here are mostly the BTC price — the activity-driven part of miner income is the fees, shown next in BTC.

The block subsidy is a fixed 3.125 BTC/block, so the part of miner income that grows with on-chain activity is the fees. This shows daily fees in BTC, split into what Alkanes transactions paid vs everything else — so you can see Alkanes' real contribution to miners' BTC earnings as Alkanes activity grows. Subsidy excluded.

By fee revenue — what miners actually earn from fees — Alkanes are 20.7% over the last 30 days (6.6% over the full tracked period), far below their share of transaction count, because most Alkanes tx are tiny DIESEL mints that pay little. All OP_RETURN traffic together pays 10.3% of fee revenue. (Subsidy excluded here; fees only.)