Although the Bitcoin blockchain’s average transaction fees have decreased since surpassing $30 per transfer on May 8, there are still over 257,000 pending transactions awaiting confirmation. Furthermore, from May 1 onwards, the network has successfully verified anywhere from 355,000 to over 682,000 transactions per day. Presently, approximately 188 blocks or 0.343 gigabytes must be mined by bitcoin miners to resolve the backlog of unconfirmed transactions.
Bitcoin’s Consistent Backlog: 188 Blocks to Clear Pending Transactions
At the time of writing, there remains a significant backlog of pending bitcoin transfers awaiting confirmation. With the average block interval set at ten minutes per block, it would require approximately 1.30 days to clear this backlog. However, a substantial portion of the backlog has been resolved since May 7 and 8, 2023, when the number of unconfirmed bitcoin transactions exceeded 500,000.
On May 8, according to data from bitinfocharts.com, the average transaction fee skyrocketed to $31 per transaction. As of June 4, 2023, the average transaction fee stands at 0.00012 BTC or $3.15. The same website displays a median-sized transaction fee of 0.000053 BTC or $1.44 per transaction. As of 3:51 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on June 4, 2023, according to mempool.space statistics, there are approximately 257,141 pending transactions awaiting confirmation.
To address a significant portion of this backlog, approximately 188 blocks must be successfully mined. Mempool.space provides fee data categorized into four tiers, including a “no priority” transfer costing $0.31 per transaction, a “low priority” transfer at $0.69 per transaction, a “medium priority” transaction priced at $0.84, and a high priority transfer for $0.99. At the same time, a significant portion of the blame for the high throughput and the backlog can be attributed to the nearing 11 million milestone reached by Ordinal inscriptions.
When comparing average transfer fees, Bitcoin outperforms Ethereum’s network fees, with data revealing that the average ETH transfer fee amounts to 0.0029 ETH or $5.46 per transaction. The median-sized network fee on Ethereum is 0.0012 ETH or $2.30 per transaction. Interestingly, Etherscan’s gas tracker, similar to mempool.space, displays lower fees for ether transfers compared to the figures shown on bitinfocharts.com.
For instance, at 3:51 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, a high-priority ETH transaction only incurs a fee of $0.84 per transfer. While Bitcoin established a record of 682,000+ transactions per day on May 1, Ethereum surpasses this by clearing anywhere between 930,000 to 1 million transactions daily.
What are your thoughts on the current state of Bitcoin transactions? Are the decreasing fees and ongoing backlog a cause for concern or a temporary challenge? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.