Bitcoin Transaction Backlog Shrinks, but Over 289,000 Still Await Confirmation

Although Bitcoin’s web transaction fees person decreased and a information of the unconfirmed transportation backlog has diminished, the protocol inactive grapples with implicit 289,000 transactions awaiting confirmation. As of this writing, much than 218 blocks indispensable beryllium processed to afloat alleviate this congestion.

Bitcoin’s Lingering Transaction Backlog

Data collected connected May 20, 2023, astatine 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time reveals astir 289,385 unconfirmed BTC transactions lingering successful the backlog. This is somewhat little than the fig recorded 9 days earlier connected May 11, erstwhile conscionable implicit 300,000 transactions were pending miner confirmation. However, fees person fallen since then; astatine that time, a high-priority interest was $3 per transaction.

Currently, mempool.space statistic bespeak that a high-priority interest stands astatine $1.81 per transaction, portion a medium-priority interest costs $1.62. A low-priority transfer, according to the site’s data, volition magnitude to $1.47 per transaction connected Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, metrics from bitinfocharts.com amusement the mean BTC transaction interest arsenic 0.00023 BTC per transaction, oregon $6.07. Concerning median-sized transaction fees connected the Bitcoin network, bitinfocharts.com reports a interest of astir 0.00013 BTC oregon $3.55 per transfer.

The persistence of Bitcoin’s unconfirmed transportation backlog has led immoderate to speculate that request whitethorn yet wane. Yet others reason that request could endure for an extended play owing to Ordinal inscriptions and BRC20 tokens‘ existence. Presently, astir 8,128,158 inscriptions tin beryllium recovered connected the Bitcoin blockchain. Moreover, the existent worth of the 24,677 BRC20 tokens successful beingness is an estimated $592 million.

Despite the ongoing inscription and token inclination occurring connected Litecoin and Dogecoin blockchains arsenic well, minting and transactions linked to inscriptions and BRC20s person not decelerated connected the Bitcoin network. Furthermore, the Lightning Network (LN) capableness has consistently declined since our last report connected the issue, which indicated the LN held 5,415 BTC connected May 14. That fig has since contracted to 5,367 BTC.

What are your thoughts connected Bitcoin’s ongoing transaction backlog and its imaginable interaction connected the network’s scalability? Share your insights and opinions successful the comments conception below.