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Mempool 101: What Happens Before Your Bitcoin Hits the Blockchain

šŸš— Hereā€™s why congestion happens on the blockchainā€”and how to make sure your sats donā€™t get left waiting next time.

Author

Hector Alvero
April 01, 2025

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Featured Article

If youā€™ve ever sent or received Bitcoin, youā€™ve probably heard the term ā€œmempool.ā€ But what is itā€”and why does it matter?

Think of it like a busy waiting room. The mempool is where pending Bitcoin transactions wait before miners confirm them.

This guide breaks down how it works, what causes congestion, and how to avoid delays with smarter transactions.

Letā€™s dive in.

What Is the Bitcoin Mempool and Why Does It Matter?

Before a Bitcoin transaction is confirmed, itā€™s broadcast to the network and held in the mempoolā€”short for ā€œmemory pool.ā€ This is a queue of unconfirmed transactions waiting for miners.

When demand spikes, like during market surges, the mempool fills up fast. Lower-fee transactions can get stuck, waiting until miners run out of higher-paying ones to process.

The Mechanics Behind Mempool Congestion

How Transactions Enter the Mempool

When you send BTC, your wallet:

ā€¢ Signs the transaction with your private key

ā€¢ Broadcasts it to the network

ā€¢ Nodes validate it and store it in their mempool, waiting for miners

How Miners Prioritize

Miners pick the highest-fee transactions first. When lots of users offer higher fees, it becomes a race for block spaceā€”and lower-fee transactions may wait.

What Slows Things Down

ā€¢ Block size limit: Only so many transactions fit per block

ā€¢ High demand: Price spikes or big news can flood the network, filling the mempool and increasing wait times

Curious about what factors affect how long transactions stay in the mempool? Read the full post here to find out more.

Meet the Team

The biggest news this week? GameStop is going full Bitcoin, adopting it as a treasury reserve asset and planning to raise $1.3 billion to stack sats.

Our COO Hector Alvero breaks down his thoughts on their groundbreaking move and how he sees GME as an investment.

Meme of the Week