Bitcoin network activity has shown a significant decline in the number of daily transactions, down from over 730,000 to around 320,000–500,000 in 2025. This decline is due to a decline in non-monetary transactions. However, despite the decrease in transaction volume, the total daily settlement value remains high at around $7.5 billion per day. This shows that large entities continue to dominate the network.
The average size of each transaction has now increased to around $36,000, while 89% of the total volume now comes from transactions over $100,000, compared to just 66% in 2022. This clearly shows the dominance of institutional players on the Bitcoin chain. Furthermore, while the price remains high, transaction fees have remained low, which is not usually the case in bull markets, a sign that activity is now being driven by large-scale users rather than retail investors.
Analytics firm Santiment also noted a large disparity between the activity of elite wallets and retail investors. As big wallets piled up Bitcoin, small investors showed signs of panic and loss of confidence. History shows that this kind of pattern often precedes a major surge in the crypto market, as small investors sell and sharks start buying.
At the same time, has returned to the neutral zone, indicating that investors are now in a wait-and-see phase. Analysts expect that as retail pressure subsides and big wallets continue to absorb supply, a new upward momentum could potentially emerge, marking the beginning of a new phase in the global crypto market.
