I’m sending bitcoin (BTC), what is the miners fee?

Bitcoin is a decentralised network and therefore, in principle, has no transaction fees; bitcoin transactions are almost real-time. However, to ensure that your transaction is valid and that the sent amount can be reused, it must be included in a so-called block on the bitcoin blockchain. This process is carried out by bitcoin miners, who use their computing power to confirm transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. When a miner finds a new block, new bitcoins are released as a reward, and the transactions in that block are confirmed.

You need miners to send your bitcoins. To increase the likelihood that a miner will confirm your transaction, you can include a fee (also known as a miner's fee). Each time a miner finds a new block, they can include a number of pending transactions, but usually not all of them. Miners often prioritise transactions with a higher fee and include them first in a block.

When you send bitcoin, for example to Bitonic, we see the transaction arrive almost immediately, but the received bitcoin can only be further used once it’s confirmed. That’s why we wait to pay out until the transaction is confirmed.

If your wallet supports this, it’s best to choose a dynamic fee. Your wallet will then calculate a fee based on the size of the transaction and consider the average fees at that moment. Transactions without a fee, or with a very low fee, may remain unconfirmed for a long time, especially if the network is busy, as miners will prioritise transactions with a higher fee.

How does the fee work exactly?

The transaction fee is added to the total of your transaction, so you can always send slightly less than what is in your bitcoin wallet. Most wallets calculate this automatically, but sometimes you can check in the settings to see what amount is set for the fee.

For example: if you have exactly 1 BTC in your wallet and your wallet charges 0.0003 BTC as a fee, then you can send a maximum of 0.9997 BTC, leaving no bitcoin remaining. The miner who confirms your transaction will then receive 0.0003 BTC as a fee. If you send this transaction to us, you would indicate on our site that you want to sell 0.9997 BTC, as that’s the amount you can send.

Not sure which fee to use? Check a website like mempool.space for the recommended transaction fees per vbyte. Note: transactions with no fee or a low fee can sometimes remain unconfirmed for days, which means we cannot pay these out to you!