How Does a Network’s Congestion Level Affect the Block Confirmation Time?
High network congestion significantly increases the block confirmation time for transactions with standard fees. When the network is congested, the mempool fills up with pending transactions.
Validators can only include a limited number of transactions per block (based on the gas limit). This forces users to engage in a gas auction, and transactions with lower fees must wait longer, sometimes through multiple blocks, for confirmation, thus increasing the total confirmation time.
Glossar
Confirmation Time
Latency ⎊ Confirmation Time, within cryptocurrency derivatives and options trading, represents the measured interval between trade execution and the definitive, immutable recording of that transaction on the underlying blockchain or clearing system.
Network Congestion
Latency ⎊ Network congestion within cryptocurrency, options trading, and financial derivatives manifests as increased latency, directly impacting execution speeds and potentially leading to adverse selection against slower participants.
Block Confirmation Time
Finality ⎊ Block confirmation time represents the period required for a transaction to achieve probabilistic finality within a blockchain network, a critical parameter influencing settlement risk.
Block Confirmation
Finality ⎊ Block confirmation, within cryptocurrency networks, represents the probabilistic assurance that a transaction is irreversibly included in the blockchain’s permanent record.
Dynamic Fee Adjustment
Mechanism ⎊ Dynamic fee adjustment refers to a protocol-driven process where transaction fees on a blockchain network automatically change based on prevailing network conditions.