How Do High Fees Act as a Dynamic Defense Mechanism against Network Overload?

High fees act as a dynamic defense mechanism by implementing a price-based rationing system for the scarce resource of block space. When the network is under high demand or a potential spam attack, the competition for inclusion drives fees up.

This increase in cost automatically deters the attacker, as the economic cost of sustaining the attack becomes too high. For legitimate users, it forces a prioritization of only the most urgent transactions, effectively shedding lower-priority load to maintain the network's core function.