Bitcoin Network Halts for 90 Minutes: An Anomaly Triggers High Transaction Fees

A 90-minute delay in Bitcoin block validation has triggered an unexpected rise in transaction fees. On June 6, 2023, the Bitcoin network saw a block validation anomaly, according to the Cryptonomist.

There was a time gap of 90 minutes between the production of two blocks: 793098 and 793099. F2Pool validated the former block at 10:25 AM (CEST), while ViaBTC took until 11:55 AM to validate the latter.

This significant delay raised eyebrows. Bitcoin, on average, takes around 10 minutes to produce a block. Although this is a statistical average and can vary, a 90-minute gap is unusual.

The most likely reason for the delay is a brief drop in hashrate. This could have affected the network’s ability to generate adequate computing power to validate block 793099.

Following the anomaly, Bitcoin transaction fees have soared. Before the anomaly, the average transaction cost stood at around 2.34 euros. After the delay, this figure spiked to 7.63 euros, marking an increase of more than 300%.

This sudden surge in transaction fees benefitted the miners. Block 793098 generated 0.33828524 BTC in transaction fees for F2Pool, while block 793099 secured an impressive 0.94846536 BTC for ViaBTC.

With transaction fees remaining relatively high after the event, miners continue to enjoy this unexpected boon. Meanwhile, users may need to brace themselves for costlier Bitcoin transactions in the short term.

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