Axel Adler Jr, an analyst at Encrypted Data, said that minting BRC-20 memecoin on the BTC blockchain has led to a surge in demand for block space. Unlike traditional token standards such as Ethereum’s ERC-20, BRC-20 does not use smart contracts. Only operate with wallets that support the Bitcoin blockchain. The average fee per transaction soared past $16 and peaked at $29 on May 9, according to CryptoQuant data.