We've clarified the latest data: yesterday, the average Bitcoin blockchain interaction fee was the equivalent of $2.12. This is markedly lower than last year's figures. For clarity, here is a graph of the average daily fee over this time period.

Graph of the average Bitcoin network commission

The record average fee was set on April 21, 2021. At that time, almost $63 had to be paid for a transaction.

It is important to note that the commissions are counted in satoshi per byte sent, which is the smallest indivisible part of BTC. Accordingly, the current slump in commissions is also important given Bitcoin's rise in recent months. In other words, even the rise in BTC has not been a reason for a sharp increase in the figure.

How much does it cost to send bitcoins

One explanation for the trend, formed by Cointelegraph journalists, is the rapid development of the Lightning Network. This is a second-tier solution for processing transactions outside of the cryptocurrency’s main blockchain, which is powered by Bitcoin’s core network. The greater the volume of transfers transferred to the LN, the lesser the load on the core network. As a result, the “maintenance” of the average transaction is significantly cheaper.

In the case of the Lightning Network, the result of several transactions is entered into the Bitcoin blockchain if a user wants to complete an interaction with another address in that superstructure. Before that, the transactions cost one satoshi, which is practically free of charge. In addition, they are processed in seconds, which in this case makes BTCs a suitable means of payment.

Dynamics of average Bitcoin network fees this year

The second possible reason is the growing confidence of miners in Bitcoin’s good future and potential. Recall that on April 21, the cryptocurrency’s network hash rate hit a historic low amid a mass migration of miners from China, as the activity was completely banned there. However, the figure has now recovered to its former highs.

China’s ban on mining has led to a significant drop in the cryptocurrency network’s hash rate

The logic here is simple: when moving, miners were forced to disconnect their equipment from the network and deal with its transportation. Thus, a significant portion of those who were processing cryptocurrency transfers simply "dropped out of the game". But there were not fewer people willing to transfer their coins, which led to an increase in the cost of miners' services.

Finally, a third possible reason is the “clearing out” of the mempool. A mempool is a “queue” of transactions that have been sent by the user, but have not yet been confirmed by miners and are waiting to be added to the block. The more transfers in the queue, the higher the average fee, as more people want to transfer coins quickly.

Mempool load dynamics

We also feel it necessary to mention a Bitcoin update called Taproot, which was activated in mid-November. One of the features of the update was the linking of multiple signatures together, which saves space in each block. Consequently, more transactions can be placed there, and competition for space in the block is reduced.

Bitcoin’s strength

Bitcoin is doing well not only on the fundamental side, but also on the revenue side, at least according to MicroStrategy’s management. It bought another 7002 BTC the day before, spending about $414.4 million. The purchase was made at an average price of $59,187 per coin. MicroStrategy currently has 121,044 BTCs worth a total of $6.87 billion on its balance sheet.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor

Accordingly, MicroStrategy continues to rank at the top of the list of public companies that hold bitcoins in their portfolio. The giant currently holds 0.576 per cent of the total BTC supply in circulation. According to analysts, the company has set its sights on getting at least one per cent of the number of bitcoins in circulation.

Ranking of public companies with bitcoins in their portfolios


We believe that the gradual decrease in Bitcoin network fees is a positive development. After all, the cryptocurrency is now less expensive to use, which means more people can do it. In addition, it attracts traders' attention to other modern networks like Solana, Avlananche or Fantom, which are much cheaper to interact with. Obviously, sooner or later, newcomers to the cryptocurrency world will get their hands on them as well.


Look for even more interesting things in our millionaires cryptochat. There, we’ll talk about other topics that affect the world of decentralized assets.