What is network congestion?

Quite simply, network congestion occurs when there is an abundance of transactions on the blockchain, creating a backlog.

This is a matter of supply and demand – in which there are simply too many transactions and not enough miners to confirm them.

Transactions that have yet to be confirmed are placed in a mempool (memory + pool), a waiting room of sorts, until they are picked up and processed.

How does network congestion affect my transactions?

Network congestion can result in the unfortunate side effect of driving up mining fees as demand outweighs the supply. A once competitive fee can all of a sudden be rendered low as miners are free to pick and choose what they process – confirming transactions that are of more value to them.

The result is that new transactions coming in with a higher fee are processed first leaving the rest pending as overall fee rates normalize.

It is important to note that we process Bitcoin withdrawals using a dynamic market rate for mining fees, to ensure we maintain industry-leading timeframes; and only when unexpected increases in network congestion occur, are transactions subject to minor delays.

Is it possible to speed-up a delayed transaction?

The short answer is no, when network congestion is high – the speed at which deposits or withdrawals get confirmed is out of our control.