Bitcoin breaking above $100k silently broke its positive adoption curve as usage craters
Bitcoin's price is hitting new highs while on-chain usage, like active addresses, has declined since 2021, signaling a structural shift driven by ETFs.Summary
The historical correlation between Bitcoin's price appreciation and network adoption, measured by active addresses and transaction counts, has broken since 2021. Despite Bitcoin trading at new all-time highs in the ETF era, daily active addresses have fallen to levels last seen in early 2020, indicating that capital is flowing in through accumulation rather than increased network engagement.
The approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs introduced a structural change, allowing capital exposure without direct on-chain interaction, leading to a decoupling where price rises while usage stalls or declines. A composite adoption index confirms this divergence, showing price moving ahead while on-chain fundamentals lag.
This suggests Bitcoin is entering a more capital-intensive, lower-velocity phase, functioning increasingly as a store of value or collateral rather than a transactional network. While adoption as measured by on-chain activity appears to have peaked in 2021, the data shows conviction among long-term holders, not necessarily an expanding user base, meaning price is no longer a reliable proxy for usage.
(Source：CryptoSlate)