TD₿: How to Use Mempool.Space by Alex Min

TL;DR Learn how to use a blockchain explorer and mempool explorer when sending Bitcoin transactions.

Hey Bitcoiners, 

Sending a Bitcoin transaction for the first time can be a stressful experience. We’ve all been there — carefully double-checking that each digit or letter of the address you entered is correct before gingerly hitting send. From there, you pray to the Bitcoin gods that you entered the address correctly until you finally see the transaction confirmed.

But what actually happens after you hit send and your bitcoin goes off into cyberspace?

The first thing to know is that your transaction is fighting for limited block space in each block. As a result, miners will prioritize transactions with higher fee rates over the transaction with lower fee rates.

The higher the fee attached to your transaction, the more likely miners will choose to add your transaction in the next block, and the more quickly your transaction will be confirmed on the blockchain.

If you send your transaction at a time when demand for block space is high, the risk is your transaction will have to wait in something called the mempool because the fee associated with it is not competitive compared to other transactions in the mempool.

Until demand for block space reduces and miners feel it’s worth their while to include your transaction in the next block, your transaction will remain “stuck.”

Nowadays, there are tools like mempool.space that allow an individual to visualize Bitcoin transactions occurring in real time.

Alex Min wrote this great tutorial about how to use mempool.space so you don’t have to wait in the dark and cross your fingers whenever you send Bitcoin transactions. (02/05/2021)

When you play around with mempool.space, you feel like you’re watching how Bitcoin functions under the hood as it happens. Highly recommend spending some time with it.

Tick tock next block,
Cory Klippsten

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