Mempool Congestion Alert - DEPRECATED

THIS ENDPOINT HAS BEEN DEPRECATED AND WILL NO LONGER BE ACTIVELY MAINTAINED, UPDATED OR SUPPORTED

Alert Definition

Alerts if the virtual size (vsize) of all mempool transactions exceeds 300,000,000 vBytes.

Dictionary

Name	AlertID	Category	Sub-category	Type	Unit	Interval
Mempool Congestion Alert	mempool_vsize_hi	Alert	Mempool Alerts	Sum	vsize	Ad hoc

Interpretation

By default, the nodes of a cryptonetwork have a dedicated area to store unprocessed transactions, the mempool. Since mempools rely on local storage, their capacity to store unprocessed transactions must be limited. Otherwise, the mempool could be exploited by an attacker flooding it with transactions. If a mempool has reached 300M vB, nodes may begin discarding transactions to free up space, which can cause disruptions.

Potential Root Causes

Increase demand for block space leading to congestion, often caused by market volatility.

A mempool flood attack, a type of DDoS attack whereby the mempool is spammed with transactions.

Available Assets

Bitcoin (BTC)