Bitcoin Maximalists Dismiss Concerns of DoS Attack on Bitcoin
Over the weekend, concerns circulated on social media about a potential Denial of Service (DoS) “attack” on the Bitcoin network due to a sudden surge in transaction fees and unconfirmed transactions, which caused BTC tickers to drop to $28,375. However, several Bitcoin analysts and commentators were quick to allay fears among their followers that the network was under attack.
According to BitInfoCharts, Bitcoin’s average transaction fees are currently $19.20, or 0.00068 BTC, while the backlog of transactions on the network stood at 459,341 at the time of writing. As a result, total fees per block have temporarily exceeded the block subsidy reward of 6.25 BTC on May 7, causing concern among industry analysts. This is the first time this has occurred since 2017, with fees of 6.76 BTC being recorded for one block, and block 788695 generating fees of 6.7 BTC.
The Mempool Space explorer shows that activity has since subsided, and fees have fallen back below the block reward. The next block is expected to generate 4.51 BTC in fees. The surge in activity and block space demand has been attributed to the rise in Ordinals inscriptions. According to Glassnode, a total of 75% of Bitcoin on-chain transactions used Taproot on May 7, resulting in a record high.
Despite the speculation on social media about a DoS attack, Bitcoin analysts have dismissed such concerns, pointing out that it was due to demand rather than a premeditated attack. “0xfoobar” told his 130,000 followers on Twitter that “Bitcoin mempool finally gets some usage and the maxis are framing it as a DoS attack on the network. They really have not considered even the most basic scenarios, like ‘Bitcoin becomes popular and people are willing to pay to use it’.”
On May 8, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suspended Bitcoin transactions again, citing “the large volume of pending transactions.” This is the second time in the past 12 hours that Binance has suspended BTC transactions.
Conclusion
Despite concerns over a potential DoS attack on the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin analysts have reassured their followers that the recent surge in transaction fees and unconfirmed transactions was due to demand rather than a premeditated attack. With the rise of Ordinals inscriptions and the increased use of Taproot, Bitcoin has become more popular, leading to a surge in network activity. However, the recent suspension of Bitcoin transactions by Binance highlights the need for the Bitcoin network to be able to handle high levels of demand in a more efficient manner.
Ecosystem
Research
News Network
About