High Blockchain Network Load: Why Fees Increase and Transactions Are Delayed
Sometimes a transaction that would normally be confirmed within a few minutes suddenly takes longer, while the fee is higher than usual. In most cases, this is caused by increased blockchain network activity.
This does not necessarily mean there is a problem with the network. Usually, it simply means that the number of new transactions temporarily exceeds the network’s processing capacity.
1. Why Does Network Load Increase?
Every blockchain network has a certain throughput - the number of operations it can process within a given period of time. One of the metrics commonly used to measure it is TPS (transactions per - the number of transactions processed per second.
Network activity can increase sharply due to:
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active trading;
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a sudden rise or drop in the price of an asset;
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a large number of simultaneous purchases or sales;
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the launch of a new token or popular project;
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increased activity in decentralized applications.
For example, during major market movements, users may simultaneously buy, sell, and transfer assets, causing the number of transactions to increase rapidly.
In Bitcoin, this can lead to a growing queue of unconfirmed transactions and increased competition for block space. In Ethereum, high activity increases gas usage and can lead to a higher base fee. In Solana, users can also compete for transaction processing by using a priority fee.
In other words, high network load means that, at a given moment, demand for transaction processing is high relative to the network’s available resources.
2. What Happens to Transactions When the Network Is Congested?
Unconfirmed transactions wait to be processed. In Bitcoin, this queue is known as the mempool.
When there are more transactions than can fit into the next block, miners select transactions based partly on their fees. As a result, transactions offering higher fees generally receive higher priority.
Ethereum works differently: transaction fees consist of a base fee and a priority fee. The base fee changes depending on network demand, while the priority fee can be used to increase a transaction’s priority. Solana also has a priority fee, which affects the priority of a transaction during processing.
If a transaction is not included in the next block, this does not mean that it has been lost. It can remain unconfirmed until the network processes it.
3. How Does High Network Load Affect Fees and Transaction Speed?
The higher the demand for transaction processing, the more users may be willing to pay for their transactions to be prioritized. As a result, users may experience two main consequences:
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higher transaction fees;
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longer confirmation times for transactions with lower fees.
However, high network load does not necessarily mean that the blockchain is experiencing a failure. The network can continue producing blocks and processing transactions while the queue and confirmation times increase.
4. What Should Users Do When the Network Is Congested?
Before sending a transaction, it is worth checking the current network fee and overall network conditions. If the transfer is not urgent, it may sometimes be more cost-effective to wait until network activity decreases.
If a transaction has already been sent and remains unconfirmed for a long time, some blockchains support Replace-by-Fee (RBF) - a mechanism that allows an unconfirmed transaction to be replaced with a new one offering a higher fee. This can increase the transaction’s priority, but it does not guarantee immediate confirmation.
In Bitcoin, whether RBF can be used depends on the parameters of the original transaction. In Ethereum, a replacement transaction is submitted using the same nonce and a higher fee.You can learn more about the RBF mechanism and the specifics of transaction replacement on the ETH and BTC blockchains in our articles.
Key Takeaways
High network load occurs when increased user activity temporarily raises demand for transaction processing. During these periods, fees may increase and confirmation times may become longer.
That is why it is worth checking current network conditions before sending a transaction. If the transfer is not urgent, waiting for network activity to decrease may help avoid higher fees.
