Bitcoin Transaction Fees Hit Lowest Level in 9 Years as BTC Price Breaks Negative Streak

Key Insights

• Bitcoin average transaction fees dropped to their lowest levels since 2017, due to the introduction of inscriptions.
• BTC ended March in green, ending the bearish trend that began in October 2025.
• Analysts revealed that the average Bitcoin transaction sent to exchanges rose to 2.62 BTC.

The average Bitcoin transaction fee has dropped to its lowest level in 9 years. This drop comes while the BTC price broke a  5-month negative streak, ending March 2026 in green. Also, Bitcoin exchange inflows recently flashed a rare signal, indicating a potential local capitulation.

Why the Bitcoin Transaction Fees Plunge

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost pointed out the falling Bitcoin fees trend in an X post. According to the analyst, average transaction fees have dropped to their lowest levels since 2017.

Consequently, transaction fees are currently below $0.40 on an annual average basis. Bitcoin transaction fees are the amounts users pay miners to include their transactions in a block.

Unlike credit cards, there is no fixed percentage. Fees depend on network congestion, transaction size, and the user’s chosen rate.

During heavy demand, fees can spike to tens or even hundreds of dollars for urgent transactions because blocks have limited capacity. Low fees indicate plenty of available block space and reduced competition.

The drop in Bitcoin fees is largely attributed to the introduction of inscriptions, often linked to Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. Inscriptions cause congestion and spike fees by filling blocks with large data payloads, creating competition.

The yearly average fee falling below $0.40 means sending BTC is cheap for most users.

However, there are still hundreds of thousands of on-chain transactions per day, according to Darkfost.

On average, there are still more than 3,000 daily transactions. This suggests the network remains active, but without competition that drives up costs.

Historically, Bitcoin transaction fees tend to peak during bull markets and bottom out in bear periods, as we are seeing now. High prices attract more users, filling the pending transactions queue.

Bitcoin Breaks 5-month Negative Streak

Meanwhile, the BTC price broke a five-month losing streak, ending March in the green. According to CryptoRank data, Bitcoin posted a modest 1.8% gain in March 2026.

This marked the first positive monthly close since October 2025. Bitcoin started the month, trading around $67,000. The coin soon climbed to a high near $75,000 in mid-March, then consolidated and ended around $67,000.

Breaking the 5-month negative streak signals sellers’ exhaustion and an imminent breakout in April.

Historically, April has been one of Bitcoin’s stronger months on average. The data from CryptoRank revealed an average gain of 31.3% and a median of over 5.3%.

In April 2025, Bitcoin closed in green, with gains reaching 14.2%. Over the past 24 hours, the leading coin is up by more than 2%, trading at $68,480.

Note that positive ETF inflows, whale accumulation, and shifting retail and institutional demand supported the modest rebound.

Exchange Netflow Flash Negative Signal

Despite the recent optimism surrounding the top coin, Bitcoin has seen a bearish on-chain signal from exchange activity.

Market analyst Maarturn shared a chart showing that the average Bitcoin transaction fee sent to exchanges climbed to 2.62 BTC.

The analyst described this level as rare. He added that it is typically associated with high-stress market moves and increased selling pressure from larger holders.

In the past, higher mean inflow sizes correlated with increased selling pressure. This is because large holders moving coins to exchanges are more likely to convert them to stablecoins or fiat soon.

It suggests whale distribution rather than accumulation. When whales send big chunks to exchanges, it can add supply to the order books, potentially pushing prices lower if demand does not absorb it.

However, large inflows are sometimes for non-selling reasons. For instance, whales can move to better trading venues, using their assets as collateral for derivatives, or even internal exchange transfers.