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Benzinga
Benzinga
Business
Aniket Verma

Bitcoin Still Faces No Spam Issues, Argues Michael Saylor, Highlighting Low Transaction Fees — Critics Say 'Nobody is Using the Chain'

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Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) founder Michael Saylor touted on Wednesday Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) ability to enable fast and affordable global transfers despite long-standing concerns around blockspace.

Saylor Touts Benefits Of ‘Free Market’

Saylor highlighted Bitcoin’s fee estimator on X, with a fee rate of 1 satoshi per virtual byte for instant settlements during periods of low congestion, and an average transaction fee of $0.30.

One satoshi is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC. At the time of writing, it amounted to $0.00062.

Lightning transactions also include a variable fee component applied to the payment amount. In the given scenario, it was shown to be 0.0004% of the total amount transferred.

“After a decade of blockspace fears and non-monetary-use panics, Bitcoin still has no spam problem,” Saylor said. “Anyone can move any amount globally with immediate processing for ~$0.30.”

Read Also: 21Shares: Bitcoin Could Hit $100,000 by Year-End for These 4 Reasons

Is No One Using Bitcoin Blockchain?

Critics argued that Bitcoin’s low fees stem from low demand, with a user named “Udi #BIP-110” stating, “nobody is using the chain, for any use case, whatsoever.”

The number of unconfirmed transactions in the Bitcoin mempool has dropped sharply over the past year, a stark contrast to the severe congestion seen in May 2023, which was driven by a surge in data-heavy protocols like Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.

Source: Blockchain.com

The Quantum Computing Question

Fred Krueger, former Wall Street trader and Bitcoin enthusiast, chimed in, warning that the “market forces” Saylor mentioned would not resolve quantum computing risks to Bitcoin.

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $62,495.41, up 30.08% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Read Also: Bitcoin Is 'Anti-Fragile,' Says CFTC Chairman, Urges To Pass CLARITY Act

Photo: Hi my name is Jacco on Shutterstock.com

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