Why is my bitcoin transaction not confirmed?

Transaction costs are calculated based on the volume of data for the transaction and network congestion.

Since a block can only contain 4MB of data, the number of transactions that can be performed in a block is limited. Therefore, more block data is required for a larger transaction. As a result, larger transactions are generally counted by byte.

When you use a BTC wallet to send a transaction, the wallet will usually provide you with a BTC wallet. You will be given the option to choose your Bitcoin fee rate. This fee will be specified in satoshis for each unit of data (there are 100,000,000 satoshis in Bitcoin) consumed on the blockchain by your transaction, abbreviated as sats/BByte. This rate is then multiplied by the size of your transaction to get the total fee you will pay.

If you want to confirm your transaction immediately, your optimal fee rate can vary widely. If you don’t mind waiting, spending a couple of sessions/forum usually allows you to save. Confirm your transaction within a day or a week.

The transaction fee also reflects the speed with which the user wants to validate the transaction. When a user initiates a transaction, they enter a mempool (transactions that have not yet been placed on the blockchain and are stored in volatile memory).

After validation, it is included in the block. Miners choose what transactions are validated and included in the block. When there is a backlog of transactions waiting to be validated, it creates an incentive for miners to process transactions with higher fees first. Most miners focus on high-byte-rate transactions. When network transactions begin to slow, transaction fees will decrease.

Bitcoin exchanges, which connect buyers and sellers, calculate their fees in two ways: a flat fee per transaction or a percentage of the total transaction volume over the past 30 days. The exchanges use a tiered fee structure, based on the total dollar volume that is being traded in either case.

The fee arrangements are designed to encourage traders to trade frequently. As a result, high-value and high-frequency transaction costs are correspondingly reduced. Small and non-recurring transaction fees are usually higher.