What do we think is the best technical solution to bitcoin network congestion? Is there a way to manage transaction overload without relying on the halving policy? Why does bitcoin always seem to have more congestion compared to other cryptos?
Removing things like Ordinals and BRC20 tokens could help reduce congestion. Even now, transactions at around 9 sat/vbyte are getting through. If exchanges cut down on multiple consolidation transactions clogging the mempool, we’d see less congestion. But they seem to be allowed to stay. Decentralization, ya know.
Actually, the fee structure is already doing its job by regulating congestion. The network isn't really set up for microtransactions right now, that's where altcoins come into play. People invest in BTC but use altcoins for transactions. But yeah, not sure how to technically fix congestion further.
As long as there's a limit, congestion is inevitable. Think of it like a website with a server that can only manage so many requests. Exceed that and everything slows down. Same thing with Bitcoin; when transactions surpass available block space, fees go up and experiences suffer. Never forget the occasional attacks that degrade user experience too.
The Bitcoin price isn’t controlled by the network itself, but by exchanges. So no, we can’t really do much about that. We could ask some exchanges to temporarily halt buying and selling, but that’s about it.
I get that the OP is mainly asking about the high fees for bitcoin transactions. How can we cut down on mempool congestion? And why does bitcoin still dominate the market?
Honestly, we don't need to mess with the fee system. It's working just fine, unlike what some Ethereum devs do with too much tinkering. That just makes things worse. Look at Ordinals; they are a perfect example of over-modification ruining things.
My question is pretty straightforward. Bitcoin’s transaction congestion is a real issue. Is there a way to fix it so that BTC fees are comparable to those of other networks like Litecoin? It feels unfair how high the fees are.
Check out what others have said. A lot of folks suggest just leaving it as it is or using alternatives. If you hold a lot in a multisig or cold wallet, you won't need many on-chain transactions. Lightning wallets for smaller amounts could work too.
But options for Liquid wallets are super limited. Blockstream Jade is about it. I agree, Lightning is a solid way to go. But running a decentralized node can be tough without others funding it, so custodial wallets might be the way to go.
True about exchanges not all accepting Lightning network. There’s probably one that does but I don’t know which. I get the custodial wallet thing, but I’m raising concerns about transfer fees when moving from wallets. Like Electrum to exchanges.
That’s just a patch, really. Coins like LTC will have their issues too. When their usage spikes, fees rise like BTC. Remember, one altcoin promised no high fees but ended up with worse fees than BTC during heavy traffic before.
Not so sure that holds. Your example brought up an arbitrary fee, but if there’s no competition, division doesn’t factor in as much. In 2014, fees were higher than now. Competition is what drives fees down.
Ok, but simply put: if we want to keep running full nodes without crazy costs, we'll always have a cap on transactions. High demand leads to congestion. We need to look into solutions where not all full nodes relay and validate every transaction.
Let’s not forget Litecoin is basically a clone of Bitcoin, using the same fee mechanics. It dropped in value since 2014 but faces the same fee spikes. It’s not magically better.
It’s not a clone in performance. Bitcoin has way more on-chain competition, which drives fees up. The min fee isn’t the same either; it’s determined by usage and competition.
Yeah, with usage, nothing compares to Bitcoin. But the underlying code and fee mechanisms for mempool congestion are similar across the board. Even forks like bcash showed this behavior during traffic spikes.
Correct. Pricing relates to both competition and transaction demand. If we set a low fee, it doesn’t mean it’s always going to stay low under high demands.
The lowest fee isn't exactly 1 sat/vbyte; it can go lower than that. If 1 sat becomes pricey, people will start paying less, you see? The fee rate comes down to competition mainly.
There’s a difference between congestion in mempools and transaction fees. Mempool conditions are better than before, and you can still get a quick confirmation at about 8 to 10 sats/vbyte these days.