How Does a Miner Decide Which Transactions to Include in a Block?
A miner's primary goal is to maximize profit, so they generally prioritize transactions that offer the highest transaction fee per unit of block space (often measured in satoshis per byte). Transactions are drawn from the mempool, which is the waiting area for unconfirmed transactions.
The miner will continuously select the most lucrative set of transactions that fit within the block size limit to ensure the highest revenue before solving the block's cryptographic puzzle.
Glossar
Block Size Limit
Constraint ⎊ Block size limit, within cryptocurrency networks, fundamentally dictates the maximum data volume permitted within a single block added to the blockchain.
Transaction Selection
Criterion ⎊ Transaction selection is the critical process where a block producer, such as a miner or validator, chooses a subset of pending transactions from the mempool to include in the next canonical block.
Block Space
Capacity ⎊ Block space, within cryptocurrency networks, fundamentally represents the finite data storage available on a blockchain to accommodate transaction records and smart contract execution.