The competitive market for limited block space where users bid fees for inclusion; determines transaction prioritization and costs.
When demand exceeds capacity, fees rise as users outbid each other for priority. Designs vary by chain—first-price auctions, EIP-1559 style base fee burns, or low-fee high-capacity models.
BTC experiences fee spikes during congestion; BCH’s larger blocks keep fee pressure low for everyday payments.
Fee markets affect UX, miner/validator revenue, and security budget. Predictable fees enable commerce; volatile fees push usage to off-peak times or alternative chains.
Merchants prefer chains with stable, low fees so checkout totals don’t fluctuate from minute to minute.
All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.