Decoding the EVM inscription decline: Has the party ended?

After gaining popularity on the Bitcoin [BTC] network, inscriptions became popular on Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM).

The number of inscriptions on these networks reached a record high, affecting the transaction volume significantly. However, the inscription trend has decreased.

How EVM inscriptions have trended in the last three months

An analysis of EVM inscriptions on Dune Analytics over the past three months revealed a notable rise in volume in December. The data showed that at least three networks experienced daily inscription counts of over 1 million on certain days in December.

For instance, on 6th December, the BNB chain recorded over 28 million transactions, while Polygon saw nearly 8 million. The cumulative inscriptions for that day were over 6 million.

Furthermore, the charts showed that inscription transactions made up over 50% of the total transactions at the peak.

However, a current examination of the charts shows a significant reduction in these transactions. As of the latest data, the highest observed inscription count was around 370,000 on the Avalanche network.

Inscriptions’ contribution to EVM gas declines

During the height of the inscription craze in December, certain networks experienced gas fees of over $1 million.

Notably, on 16th December, Avalanche and Arbitrum recorded gas fees of over $5 million and $2 million, respectively. While some networks started witnessing gas fees below $1 million, Avalanche continued this trend until 21st December.

Subsequently, gas fees significantly decreased, and at the time of this writing, the highest observed gas fee was about $16,000.

Source: Dune Analytics

As the year concluded, this substantial reduction implied a drastic decrease in the contribution to network fees. It remains uncertain whether this marks the end of the popularity of inscriptions on EVMs or if it signifies a temporary pause.

Bitcoin retains a decent inscription volume

An examination of the inscription volume on Bitcoin on Dune Analytics showed a total of over 53.4 million. Currently, the daily inscriptions on the Bitcoin network stand at over 100,000.

In the same timeframe, the total inscriptions on Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM) were less than 50,000. This highlights that, despite the apparent decrease, the Bitcoin network continues to witness a substantial volume of transactions compared to EVM networks.

Furthermore, despite the evident decline in inscription fees on Bitcoin, they were still higher than the fees observed on EVM networks. This suggests that, even with the decline, Bitcoin inscription transactions command higher fees than those on EVM networks.