Bitcoin transaction fees have hit their lowest point since November 2023, marking a significant decrease in cost. The average fee now stands at approximately $2.77 per transaction, with transfers ranging from $0.38 to $0.95 for low-priority to high-priority transactions on May 24.
The affordability of transferring BTC onchain is currently at its peak for the year, as revealed by data from bitinfocharts.com. The average transaction fee is 0.000041 BTC or $2.77 per transfer. For a median-sized transaction, the cost is 0.00002 BTC or $1.34 per transaction.
According to metrics from mempool.space, transfers are currently paying between 4 to 10 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). This translates to low-priority to high-priority transactions ranging from $0.38 to $0.95. Statistics show that between blocks 844,660 and 844,828, bitcoin miners earned an average of 3.3022 BTC from block subsidies and onchain fees over approximately 168 blocks.
Despite the current decrease in onchain fees, there is still a significant number of unconfirmed transactions in the mempool, exceeding 170,000. Data from Johoe's Bitcoin mempool statistics indicates that there have been over 150,000 unconfirmed transactions in the queue since the second week of April 2024. The last time miners nearly cleared the mempool was in October 2023, when fees were also at a similar low.
In comparison to Ethereum, the second largest blockchain network by market capitalization, Bitcoin's onchain fees have been consistently lower. Currently, the average fee on the Ethereum network is 0.0015 ETH or $5.89 per transaction, with a median fee of 0.00056 ETH or $2.15 per transaction. It is important to note that these metrics apply solely to ether transfers and do not include interactions with smart contracts or the transfer of ERC20 tokens.
What are your thoughts on Bitcoin's network fees dropping to a six-month low? Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.