The adoption of «batching,» the firm said in a blog post Thursday, will mean less strain is put on the Bitcoin blockchain from large numbers of transactions arising from the popular exchange. The move will further reduce transaction fees for customers, according to the post.
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has started grouping multiple bitcoin transactions together, rather than issuing sends one by one.
«We anticipate that this will reduce our load on the Bitcoin network by more than 50 percent, and the network fees our customers pay will automatically be reduced by an equivalent amount when sending,» wrote Eli Haims, Coinbase product manager.
Batching is already live, with the firm warning that it will add a «small delay» in sends being broadcast to the network, but will not impact the time it takes for users’ transactions to be confirmed.
The change will have its effect by reducing the number of transaction that need to be processed by the many, but still limited, number of computers supporting the network. In times of high use, bitcoin can become congested, with users needing to pay higher fees in order to get their transactions verified.
Historically, when bitcoin’s price is peaking, the market becomes more busy and fees often rise in conjunction. Fees have been stable and relatively low since last year, but peaked to record levels as bitcoin rose to an all-time high in late 2017.
Notably, the recent turmoil in the markets prompted by the coronavirus’ potential hit on the global economy has seen a sharp rise in fees, apparently as investors and traders moved in large numbers to liquidate their holdings.
According to data from Byte Tree shared in a tweet, transaction fees on average over the last five weeks were around 74 U.S. cents, but an hourly average sometime Thursday saw that climb to almost $2 on average.
CoinShares, Blockchain Launch Gold Token Network on a Bitcoin Sidechain
Digital asset manager CoinShares is putting gold on the bitcoin blockchain.
Working with wallet provider Blockchain and precious medal trader MKS (Switzerland) SA, the U.K.-based firm announced Tuesday a gold-backed network for trading tokens representing digitized physical gold, a project two years in the making.
According to CoinShares, the network launches today with more than $20 million in gold held in a Swiss vault to back up its tokens. Each DGLD token is backed by 1/10th troy ounce.
CoinShares chairman Danny Masters said the product’s network security is based on the bitcoin state, with DGLD operating as a sidechain of the bitcoin network.
“DGLD combines the stability of the world’s most enduring asset, gold, with the security of the world’s most resilient network, Bitcoin”, Masters said in a statement.
Built on blockchain firm CommerceBlock’s Ocean sidechain platform, the DGLD network is notable in that it combines financial security – the bitcoin network’s immutability and Swiss vault storage – while still facilitating low-friction trading, said Masters.
He continued:
“You can now have the peace of mind of Swiss vaulted physical gold, with the same convenience, but not the same layers of middlemen, as owning a gold ETF.”
CoinShares says the product is available for both retail and institutional investors and will be available in over 200 countries on Blockchain’s cryptocurrency exchange, The PIT.
