One major edge that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have over traditional banks is the small fees charged for transactions. The Bitcoin network has yet again proved this undeniable fact in a transaction recorded on Sept 14.
Precisely at 22:28 UTC, data from the Bitcoin blockchain showed that an address moved a little more than 44,598 bitcoins (worth about $2 billion as of transaction time), for a 0.00001713 BTC charging fee ($0.8). The bitcoins were sent to two separate addresses with the first and second wallets each receiving 0.00109009 BTC and 44,598.42881644 BTC respectively.
(Source: Blockchain.com)
As intriguing as this development might be, it is not the first and not even the second time that something similar to this is happening.
In April this year, $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin was moved for a charging fee of just $10.In 2019 also, when Bitcoin was worth much less than its current value, someone was still able to move a then $86.8 million worth of Bitcoin for just a $17 fee.
This current incident is however the most remarkable among similar ones mentioned above because this is the most amount of bitcoins that are transacted for a fee that is not even up to one dollar ($0.8).
So far, no individual or organization has or can even boast of transferring a whopping amount of funds of similar value across borders in traditional financial settings. Even if the possibility of it happening is considered, the charging fees required to process such a massive transaction will surely be outrageous.
Moreover, the time required to process such a transaction will be nothing less than five working days, in a bid to confirm the legitimacy of the funds. Unarguably, the little processing time required as well as the low fees charged for massive Bitcoin transactions is something that traditional banks can never compete with.
It gets even better with the Bitcoin Lightning network, which allows for instant transactions. The layer-two protocol is being actively used in El-Salvador, where Bitcoin was recently named legal tender.
