Re:Skyrocketing Bitcoin Fees Hit Carders in Wallet
by tlrobinson on Thursday December 28, 2017 @11:53PM
(#16027632)
> So, even if a miner mines a block with only 0-fee transactions, they are still rewarded with a small amount of Bitcoin "from nowhere".
Sure, but as long as there are transactions with fees in the mempool, then mining 0-fee transactions has an opportunity cost. Currently that's about 5 BTC per block, compared to the 12.5 BTC reward (https://www.smartbit.com.au/charts/transaction-fees-per-bloc...). It's possible that forgoing the transaction fees will make mining for you unprofitable if margins are thin.
Also, larger blocks are more likely to be orphaned, so including 0-transaction fees increases that risk (very slightly) with no additional reward (though currently the orphan rate appears to be basically zero, even with full blocks)
Sure, but as long as there are transactions with fees in the mempool, then mining 0-fee transactions has an opportunity cost. Currently that's about 5 BTC per block, compared to the 12.5 BTC reward (https://www.smartbit.com.au/charts/transaction-fees-per-bloc...). It's possible that forgoing the transaction fees will make mining for you unprofitable if margins are thin.
Also, larger blocks are more likely to be orphaned, so including 0-transaction fees increases that risk (very slightly) with no additional reward (though currently the orphan rate appears to be basically zero, even with full blocks)