The Bitcoin network is currently dealing with an increase in transaction congestion, with data from the Mempool indicating a backlog of over 470,000 pending transactions.
Somewhat expectedly, this has resulted in the transaction fees on the Bitcoin Network fluctuating quite severely.
Mempool data reveals that the Bitcoin Network is experiencing the longest block fullness with over 470,000 pending transactions.
Recent data also reveals that the average Bitcoin transaction fee has seen fluctuations, currently standing at $2.332. While this is a slight decrease from $2.597 yesterday, it marks an increase compared to the $1.047 recorded one year ago on the same day. This represents a decline of 10.23% from the previous day and a 122.6% surge over the past year.
This is not the first time Bitcoin has faced congestion issues. In May 2023, the network experienced a similar backlog of transactions, causing average transaction fees to skyrocket. During that period, fees surged to over $16, peaking at $29 on May 9. This congestion was primarily attributed to minting BRC-20 meme coins on the Bitcoin blockchain.
To comprehend these issues fully, it’s crucial to understand what a Bitcoin Mempool is. The Mempool serves as a temporary record of all Bitcoin transactions that still need to be validated by a miner and added to the next block on the blockchain. Each node in the Bitcoin network temporarily stores this Mempool.
Transactions in the Mempool are periodically cleared each time a new block is added to the blockchain. However, pending transactions in the Mempool are only processed and confirmed once they meet the minimum transaction fee threshold. Transactions with lower fees may need to wait for more than one block in the Mempool until they are processed and confirmed.
During congestion within the network, miners tend to prioritize transactions associated with higher fees, leading to lower-fee transfers piling up. Consequently, users who want quick transaction confirmations must pay higher fees, leading to a rise in costs.
Meanwhile, the current transaction backlog has not significantly affected the BTC price. At writing time, BTC was trading at $26,742 with slight fluctuation, according to CoinGecko data.