fee_max

Tech spec

Brief Description: The maximum transaction fee in a block.

fee_max reflects the highest fees users are willing to pay per block, averaged over a day, to prioritize their Bitcoin transactions.

Metric variants

• _usd: fee_max denominated in USD.
• _btc: fee_max denominated in BTC.

Interpretation A high fee_max suggests a competitive fee market, possibly due to increased transaction demand or limited network throughput, often seen during market peaks or significant network events. Conversely, a lower fee_max could indicate less urgency among users for fast confirmations, which could be seen during periods of normal or low network activity.

Advanced Explanation In the context of Bitcoin, the fee_max is a key indicator of the demand for block space. When users submit transactions to the network, they can include a fee that acts as an incentive for miners to include their transactions in the next block. As space within a block is limited, this results in a market for block space, with fees forming part of the supply-and-demand dynamics. The fee_max represents the apex of this fee-based competition on any given day, signaling the utmost price users pay for prompt transaction confirmations. It's essential to understand that miners tend to prioritize transactions offering higher fees, making the fee_max a direct reflection of the peak network congestion and corresponding fees.

Aggregation logic: average over time period.