The Mempool
The mempool, short for “memory pool,” is a crucial part of the blockchain. When someone wants to make a transaction, such as sending Bitcoin to another person, they create a transaction and broadcast it to the network. This transaction is then propagated across the network of nodes, which are the computers participating in the blockchain network and perform the Bitcoin mining. Each node that receives the transaction verifies its validity by checking factors like the sender’s balance and the proper signing of the transaction.
Once verified, the transaction is stored in a temporary holding area called the mempool at each node. The mempool holds transactions that are waiting to be included in a block on the blockchain. Transactions in the mempool are often prioritized based on the transaction fee, with higher fee transactions typically given priority by miners because they will earn more from including them in a block.
Miners, who are the nodes responsible for creating new blocks, select transactions from their mempool to include in the next block. They usually choose the highest fee transactions first to maximize their earnings. Once a miner successfully creates a new block with selected transactions, the block is broadcast to the network. Other nodes verify the block, and if it is valid, they add it to their copy of the blockchain. The transactions in the new block are then considered confirmed and are removed from the mempool.
As transactions are confirmed and added to the blockchain, they are removed from the mempool. The size of the mempool can fluctuate based on network activity and the rate at which new blocks are created.
For those interested in monitoring the mempool, there are several websites available. For example, mempool.space provides real-time data on the Bitcoin mempool, including the number of unconfirmed transactions and fee estimates. Other useful websites include Blockchain.com Mempool, BTC.com Mempool, Johoe’s Bitcoin Mempool Statistics, BitcoinExplorer, and TXStats.com. These tools help users and miners stay informed about the current state of the mempool.
In summary, the mempool acts as a waiting area for transactions before they are confirmed and added to the blockchain, helping to manage and prioritize transactions based on fees and network conditions.