{"id":100205,"date":"2019-03-31T05:55:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T12:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=100205"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:23:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:23:03","slug":"each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa\/","title":{"rendered":"Each Transaction Costs the Bitcoin Network $45, Large Improvements Needed to Beat VISA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/bitcoin\/\">Bitcoin<\/a> is sometimes cited as a potential competitor to leading payments processing service VISA. However, data from the Bitcoin blockchain suggests the network has a long way to go before it can match the convenience, speed, and cost of VISA.<\/p>\n<h2>Examining the VISA Network\u2019s Capabilities<\/h2>\n<p>According to its annual report, VISA processed over <a href=\"https:\/\/s1.q4cdn.com\/050606653\/files\/doc_financials\/annual\/2018\/Visa-2018-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf\">120 billion<\/a> transactions in 2018 which moved $11.2 trillion. Worldwide, there are 3.3 billion VISA cards in circulation on a network that (VISA claims to) boast 65,000 transactions per second in capacity.<\/p>\n<p>From these payments, VISA extracted $26 billion in gross revenue in fees and licensing. That\u2019s a fee of $0.22 per transactions or 0.23 percent of every dollar moved.<\/p>\n<p>Based on figures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/releases\/g19\/Current\/\">from the US Federal Reserve<\/a>, credit cards are used roughly 20 billion times a year with users spending a total of $1.9 trillion. Based on the number of transactions and the total spent, the average transaction is $88.<\/p>\n<h2>How Bitcoin Compares<\/h2>\n<p>Meanwhile, in the last year, there were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blockchain.com\/charts\/n-transactions?timespan=1year\">88 million<\/a> confirmed Bitcoin transactions with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blockchain.com\/charts\/estimated-transaction-volume-usd?timespan=1year\">$264 billion<\/a> in value transacted over the network.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_100362\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100362\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-100362\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/confirmed-btc-tx-1024x506.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/confirmed-btc-tx-1024x506.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/confirmed-btc-tx-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/confirmed-btc-tx-768x380.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/confirmed-btc-tx.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-100362\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Blockchain.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>These transactions cost $57 million in fees, averaging $0.64 per transaction\u2014roughly three times the cost of VISA transactions.<\/h3>\n<p>However, the above figure does not include the implicit cost of inflation from mining block rewards. The overhead of maintaining the proof-of-work network, which secures the network against double-spends and <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/explained-51-percent-attacks-on-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies\/\">51 percent attacks<\/a>, is a cost borne by all bitcoin holders.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_94692\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94692\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-94692\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/btc-51-attack-social-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/btc-51-attack-social-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/btc-51-attack-social-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/btc-51-attack-social-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/btc-51-attack-social.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-94692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Related:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/explained-51-percent-attacks-on-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies\/\">Explained: Bitcoin 51 Percent Attacks<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Miners grossed $4 billion in block rewards and fees, meaning the true cost per transaction on the network is <strong>over $45 <\/strong>(for the network, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not the user<\/span>). This cost is often imperceptible because of the volatility of BTC prices and the growing user base of investors.<\/p>\n<p>The high cost of maintaining the proof-of-work network poses a serious risk when the block reward halves on (roughly) May 23rd, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In such a circumstance, either the total hash rate of the network will decrease because mining is less profitable\u2014decreasing the security of the network\u2014or fees will increase substantially to compensate.<\/p>\n<p>Expressed as a percentage, the fee to send one dollar over the Bitcoin network costs an average of 1.5 percent (spread out over all bitcoin holders).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_100363\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100363\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-100363\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/estimated-usd-tx-value-1024x496.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/estimated-usd-tx-value-1024x496.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/estimated-usd-tx-value-300x145.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/estimated-usd-tx-value-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/estimated-usd-tx-value.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-100363\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Blockchain.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Transaction Behavior on Each Platform<\/h2>\n<p>Compared to VISA, transaction sizes using bitcoin are much larger, likely as a function of higher fixed-rate fees. In 2018, the median transaction value on the Bitcoin network is roughly $300 while the mean transaction value is $3,000.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, at minimum bitcoin transactions require at least 5 confirmations to complete unless a centralized third-party solution is used. This means transactions can take anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour to complete, depending on the method. VISA transactions can be completed, from the user\u2019s perspective, within seconds.<\/p>\n<h2>Network Throughput<\/h2>\n<p>Bitcoin currently has a block size limit of 2 MB. Over 2018, each block contained an average of 1,670 transactions and consumed an average of 0.9 MB of the 2 MB block maximum. Thus, at most, each block could contain 3,670 transactions.<\/p>\n<p>Given that blocks are mined at random intervals every 10 minutes, this would give the bitcoin network throughput of, at most, 6.1 transactions per second. Thus, the network would need to see over a 10,000-fold improvement to match VISA.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_100364\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100364\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-100364\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/crypto-transactions-compared-1024x668.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/crypto-transactions-compared-1024x668.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/crypto-transactions-compared-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/crypto-transactions-compared-768x501.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/crypto-transactions-compared.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-100364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: howmuch.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Given the limitations of the Bitcoin network, it seems unlikely that the cryptocurrency will become a medium-of-exchange unless there are monumental improvements from layer 2 solutions such as <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/what-is-the-bitcoin-lightning-network\/\">Lightning Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That said, there are other payment cryptocurrencies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/ripple\/\">Ripple\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/xrp\/\">XRP<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/bitcoin-cash\/\">Bitcoin Cash<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/stellar\/\">Stellar Lumens<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/dash\">Dash<\/a>, and others which could conceivably scale to become cost-effective mediums-of-exchange.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin is sometimes cited as a potential competitor to leading payments processing service VISA. However, data from the Bitcoin blockchain suggests the network has a long way to go before it can match the convenience, speed, and cost of VISA. Examining the VISA Network\u2019s Capabilities According to its annual report, VISA processed over 120 billion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,37],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.9 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Each Transaction Costs the Bitcoin Network $45, Large Improvements Needed to Beat VISA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Data from the Bitcoin blockchain suggests the network has a long way to go before it can match the convenience, speed, and cost of VISA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Each Transaction Costs the Bitcoin Network $45, Large Improvements Needed to Beat VISA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Data from the Bitcoin blockchain suggests the network has a long way to go before it can match the convenience, speed, and cost of VISA.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CryptoSlate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-31T12:55:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T16:23:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bitcoin-visa-speed-social.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Moos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Each Transaction Costs the Bitcoin Network $45, Large Improvements Needed to Beat VISA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cryptoslate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cryptoslate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Moos\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/each-transaction-costs-the-bitcoin-network-45-large-improvements-needed-to-beat-visa\/\"},\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/mitchell-moos\/#person\",\"name\":\"Mitchell Moos\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/mitchell-moos\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/mitchell-moos\/\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/mitchell-moos\/#authorimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/author-mitchell-moos.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/author-mitchell-moos.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Mitchell Moos\"},\"jobTitle\":\"Contributing Analyst\",\"description\":\"Mitchell is a software enthusiast and entrepreneur. 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