If you were making a Bitcoin transaction last week, chances are you’ll have noticed the time it took for the transaction to be completed.
No, you didn’t do anything wrong, and your favorite Bitcoin casino wasn’t scamming you – it’s one of Bitcoin’s issues.
We’ve had a lot of feedback from you guys about this and you seem to want to know how to fix it.
So, we’re going to walk you through why this happens and what you can do to minimize its impact on you!
Bitcoin transactions are moving very slowly, here’s how you can speed them up
Why Does it Happen?
Slow transaction time is very frustrating, and if you’re not big on the techy side, it can be very scary.
Did I send my Bitcoin to the right address? Did I set up the transaction properly? These are just two questions that will run through your mind.
Don’t fear, as long as you double check the recipient address before you click send, your Bitcoin will eventually get to its destination.
During periods of high volatility, that’s when Bitcoin rises or drops in price very quickly, a lot of people are trying to send Bitcoin to and from exchanges.
Due to the fact that Bitcoin can only process around 7 transactions per second, when you have lots of people trying to make a transaction, things can get a bit clogged up – think of it like rush-hour traffic.
Transactions aren’t processed on a first come, first served basis. Instead, those with higher fees get added to the blocks as this is more beneficial for miners and they get to pick who’s transaction hits the blockchain first.
So, simply because so many people were trying to make transactions at the same time, your transaction just got stuck in a big queue, known as the mempool.
Right. How Can I Skip the Queue?
Nobody likes waiting around, especially if you need to get your Bitcoin transaction to its destination as fast as possible
So, before you make a transaction in Bitcoin, we recommend that you head on over to this handy chart from blockchain.com.
This chart shows you the current mempool size, that’s essentially how many transactions are stuck in the traffic jam.
When the chart is showing large numbers there are more people waiting. When the number is lower, there are less people waiting.
So, before you make the transaction, check the chart and adjust your fees accordingly.
If the mempool is rather busy, set your fees to high and you’ll get to complete your transaction faster than if you left it on standard or low.
On the other hand, if the mempool is relatively quiet, you can set your fees to low in order to save yourself a few Bitcoin.
Be Patient
Unfortunately, the second you hit send on a Bitcoin transaction, there’s no way to pull it back from the mempool.
So, if you don’t set your fees properly before sending, you could get stuck in the jam.
All transactions will eventually get processed, it might take a bit of time, that’s all.
Be patient and hang on in there. We know it can be annoying, but that’s the price of freedom from banks!
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