Bitcoin (BTC) fees have spiked to $34.08 due to a new case of network congestion. OKX’s internal transactions were pinpointed as the culprit against Runes or Ordinals as might be expected.
Bitcoin Fees Surge Causes An Uproar
This congestion has led to a backlog of more than 333,400 unconfirmed transactions. Exchanges usually combine transactions to control expenses, but significant players like OKX can impact the entire network with their actions.
Since the Bitcoin halving event, related congestions were typically traceable to Runes or Ordinals. This time around, the complication stems from the internal transactions of OKX Exchange, the world’s third-largest crypto exchange based in Seychelles by volume.
According to mempool.space data, a medium-priority Bitcoin transaction costs $34.08 for quick processing, with 333,400 unconfirmed transactions in the queue.
The crypto community on X has been buzzing with contrasting views. While some are advocating for enhancing layer 2 (L2) solutions and side networks like Coinbase did to boost Bitcoin’s transaction speed, others have different perspectives on the matter.
Layer 2 networks like Shibarium, the scalability solution of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) ecosystem, revealed the successful completion of its hard fork. This was with the goal of enhancing transaction speed to boost user experience.
In its history, Bitcoin has undergone different forks to birth better scalable Proof-of-Work solutions. However, developers have not mentioned exploring this path to solve its congestion woes for now.
Bitcoin and Programmability
Developers believe that introducing programmability to the Bitcoin blockchain could trigger the next upswing for the leading crypto assets. This follows after the launch of Bitcoin Core v27.1rc1, an update focusing on bug fixes and performance boosts.
While Bitcoin ETFs are gaining traction, the Bitcoin blockchain has seemed to lack the capacity to support smart contracts like Ethereum. Nevertheless, Bitcoin is likened to digital gold for its primary function as a store of value. Ultimately, developers project that adding programmability would unlock diverse functions that might enhance its user experience.
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