OKX admits testing ‘collection program’ as Bitcoin fees skyrocket

As a web3 analyst with extensive experience in the crypto space, I’m deeply concerned about the recent spike in Bitcoin’s average transaction fee to over $50, caused by OKX’s testing of a new program. The significant increase in fees required to generate a single block, amounting to over 5.4 BTC ($400,000), has had a profound impact on the entire network, with over 330,000 transactions currently stuck.


Recently, OKX announced testing a new project on the Bitcoin blockchain, resulting in unusually high transaction fees of over $50 for each transfer.

As a crypto investor, I’ve closely monitored the Bitcoin network’s transaction fees, and according to the latest data from mempool.space, these fees reached an astonishing high of around $52 last Friday. This means that over 5.4 Bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $400,000 in current value, needed to be paid as fees just to mine a single block within the Bitcoin network. It’s important to note that OKX exchange seems to be the primary contributor to this abnormal surge in transactional fees on the Bitcoin network.

感谢提醒,团队在测试一个归集程序,已停止。

— OKX中文 (@okxchinese) June 7, 2024

As a analyst, I’ve uncovered some inquiries concerning the recent price surge on platform OKX. The Chinese account of the exchange responded swiftly on X, disclosing that OKX was indeed responsible for the spike. They revealed that OKX had been conducting a “collection program trial” and has since halted the test.

From a crypto investor’s perspective, at the moment of writing this, the specifics behind OKX causing such a noticeable shift in Bitcoin’s network fees remain uncertain.

A Web3 analyst identified as @1999_eth has raised concerns that the exchange might have implemented a faulty program. The issue, regardless of its origin, has disrupted the entire network significantly. Currently, more than 330,000 transactions are pending as of the latest reporting.

During times of increased Bitcoin activity, such as high transaction volumes or significant market events, network congestion often occurs. An illustrative example is the Bitcoin surge to $20,000 in 2017, which led to an influx of around 180,000 unconfirmed transactions in the mempool. This resulted in substantial delays for users seeking to process their transactions.

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2024-06-07 20:36