Network Congestion
Network congestion occurs when demand for transaction inclusion approaches or exceeds available processing capacity.
✦ Key Insight
It directly affects transaction cost and confirmation time.
✕ Common Misconceptions
Congestion can be temporary and does not necessarily mean the network is broken.
Detailed Explanation
In Practice
Dig Deeper
Block
A block is a data structure that groups validated blockchain transactions or state changes and links them into the chain's history.
Mempool
A mempool is a node's temporary pool of valid, unconfirmed transactions waiting to be included in a block.
Priority Fee
A priority fee is an additional fee offered to improve a transaction's inclusion priority under a network's fee rules.
Network Fee
A network fee is the amount paid to have a blockchain transaction processed and included according to that network's fee rules.
Gas Fee
A gas fee is the network fee paid for computation and transaction execution on blockchains that use a gas-based fee model.