Bitcoin network transaction fees have temporarily increased to $52.
The Bitcoin network is currently experiencing a significant increase in network fees driven by 332,000 unconfirmed transactions as of 12:05pm Eastern on June 7th.
At the time, the network fee was 514 sats for high-priority transactions and 513 sats for low-priority transactions, with the price earlier rising to 520 sats per transaction. In US dollars, this represents $50–$52 per transaction. Priority fees have since dropped to $46 per transaction.
According to blockchain journalist Colin Wu, the 332,000 unverified transactions are suspected of being collected by centralized exchange OKX and sorted into wallets, although this has not been confirmed at the time of publication.
Post-halving economics and the challenge of Bitcoin miners
Concerns surrounding the problem of mining, high network fees, and the halving of profitability for miners on the Bitcoin network have brought more attention.
The reward reduction from 6.25 Bitcoin (BTC) to 3.125 BTC at the end of April had a significant impact on mining profits.
BitFarms reported a 42% drop in mining revenue in May – the first full month since the last halving event. In its month-end report, the Bitcoin mining company found 156 BTC in May compared to 269 BTC in April.
The Bitcoin miner revealed that temperatures at his Argentine facility were unusually low in May – some of the worst weather on record in 44 years. These poor weather conditions caused the closure of the company's Rio Cuarto facility for eight days, which contributed to a decrease in the total Bitcoin mining.
Related: Could Bitcoin Close Above $70K Amid Strong Job Market?
In the year Since the beginning of 2024, Bitcoin miners in the US have spent a total of $2.7 billion on electricity despite increasing computer problems and low rewards.
According to analyst Paul Hoffman, “Since the beginning of 2024, Bitcoin mining in the US has consumed a whopping 20,822.62 GWh of electricity. The analyst added that By early 2024, the amount of energy used by Bitcoin miners could power 1.5% of US households for an entire year.
In April, it cost an average of $52,000 to mine one bitcoin. Following the halving event, the cost to mine one bitcoin more than doubled to an average of $110,000.
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