Bitcoin transaction fees have surpassed those of Ethereum for three consecutive days as miners and traders brace for the upcoming Bitcoin halving and the introduction of Runes on Bitcoin, albeit to a lesser degree. On April 17, Bitcoin miners generated \(7.47 million in fees, approximately \)160,000 higher than the $7.31 million accrued by Ethereum stakeholders, as reported by Crypto Fees.

Despite this, Ethereum maintains a notable advantage in average fees over a 7-day period, with \(8.55 million compared to Bitcoin’s \)7.57 million. The fees for Bitcoin transactions are influenced by the transaction size or data volume and the demand for block space at the time of the transaction initiation. The surge in Bitcoin (BTC) fees occurs at a critical juncture for Bitcoin miners, given that the Bitcoin halving event scheduled for April 20th will slash mining rewards from 6.25 BTC (\(398,000) to 3.125 BTC (\)199,000).

Consequently, miners will increasingly depend on higher fees and a sustained uptrend in Bitcoin’s price to offset the anticipated decline in revenue resulting from the halving, at least in the immediate aftermath. Furthermore, the implementation of NFT-like Ordinals engravings in January 2023 has enabled Bitcoin miners to boost their earnings from transaction fees, with an additional revenue stream expected to emerge upon the launch of Runes, a novel Bitcoin token standard, coinciding with the halving at block 840,000.