Worries spread on Crypto Twitter about a potential denial of service (DoS) attack targeting the Bitcoin network.
Over the weekend, a sudden increase in Bitcoin transaction fees and unconfirmed transactions, causing Bitcoin BTC prices to drop to $28,307, raised concerns on Crypto Twitter about a possible Denial of Service (DoS) “attack” on the network.
Several Bitcoin analysts and commentators have promptly reassured their respective followers, alleviating these concerns.
Based on BitInfoCharts, the average transaction fees for Bitcoin are currently $19.20 or 0.00068 BTC. Additionally, according to Mempool Space, the current backlog of transactions stands at 459,341.
The heightened demand on the network has led to a temporary situation where total fees per block surpassed the block subsidy reward of 6.25 BTC on May 7.
BITCOIN TRANSACTION FEES HAVE SURPASSED THE BLOCK SUBSIDY COINBASE REWARD
6.76 BTC vs 6.25 BTC
FIRST TIME SINCE 2017 pic.twitter.com/F0PKrlFYmQ
— trevor.btc (@TO) May 7, 2023
In the proof-of-work mining process, there is a fixed block subsidy of 6.25 BTC that reduces by half every four years. Nevertheless, in rare cases of a sudden surge in demand for block space, this threshold can be surpassed, resulting in higher transaction fees.
According to industry analysts, this is the first time such an occurrence has taken place since 2017. One block registered fees of 6.76 BTC, while block 788695 generated fees of 6.7 BTC.
The Mempool Space explorer indicates that activity has slightly subsided, resulting in fees falling back below the block reward once more. The upcoming block is anticipated to be processed, generating 4.51 BTC in fees.
Image source “cointelegraph”
The increase in activity and demand for block space has been attributed to the growing popularity of Ordinals inscriptions. Analytics provider Glassnode reported that on May 7, a record high of 75% of Bitcoin on-chain transactions utilized Taproot.
Image source “cointelegraph”
However, some individuals on Crypto Twitter speculated that the recent congestion in the network was a result of a DoS (denial of service) attack on the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin analysts promptly clarified that the congestion was a result of high demand rather than a deliberate attack. “0xfoobar,” who has 130,000 followers, explained to his audience:
“Bitcoin mempool is finally experiencing significant usage, and some individuals are incorrectly labeling it as a DoS attack on the network. They seem to overlook even the simplest possibilities, such as ‘Bitcoin gaining popularity and people being willing to pay for its use,'” stated “0xfoobar” to his 130,000 followers.
On May 8, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, once again halted Bitcoin transactions due to “a significant number of pending transactions.” This marks the second time in the last twelve hours that Binance has suspended BTC transactions.
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