Ethereum: 64-bit mempool chain too long – preventing unconfirmed payments from flooding the network

As a Bitcoin and Ethereum developer, you have probably encountered problems with a large number of unconfirmed transactions being held on the Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) network. One common problem is when the transaction pool becomes too long, causing processing times to slow down and potentially delays in receiving confirmed payments.

In this article, we will explore why the mempool chain can become too long and explore ways to prevent such problems, especially when sending Bitcoin and Ethereum via JSON-RPC APIs.

What is a Mempool Chain?

A mempool is a data structure used by cryptocurrency exchanges such as BitMEX or Binance to manage and prioritize transactions. When multiple users try to send funds to the same wallet or exchange, transactions are grouped into a single “mempool,” or pool of pending transactions.

Why can a Mempool chain become too long?

A Mempool chain can become too long when there are:

• Too many unconfirmed transactions: If 24 unconfirmed payments have been sent from an account, it means that the transactions are still being verified by the network.

• High transaction volume: When multiple users send funds in quick succession, the transactions accumulate, expanding the mempool chain.

Consequences of a long Mempool chain

A long mempool chain can cause:

• Slow transaction processing time

  : As more and more transactions are added to the mempool, the processing time increases, resulting in delays in receiving confirmed payments.

• Network congestion: A large mempool chain can overload the network capacity, which can lead to increased latency, reduced transaction speed, and possible outages.

How ​​to prevent unconfirmed payments from congesting the network

To mitigate these issues and prevent unconfirmed transactions from holding up the network:

• Use a better batching strategy: Consider using a more efficient batching technique, such as batching or batching, which can reduce transaction processing time.

• Increase the block time limit: Enabling a longer block time (e.g. 10 minutes) can reduce the number of transactions in memory at any given time.

• Optimize JSON-RPC API request parameters: Adjust the API request settings to reduce the number of unspent transactions sent:

• Use “includeUnspent” to “false”, which will only include unspent transaction outputs in the response and reduce the amount of data returned.

• Set “maxBatch” to a higher value (e.g. 100) to limit the number of transactions in each batch.

• Use a more robust batching library: Use libraries such as “eth-batcher” or “bitcoind-rpc”, which provide better batching capabilities and can help reduce transaction processing time.

• Monitor Mempool chain performance: Monitor your Mempool chain metrics to identify any bottlenecks or issues before they become a problem.

By implementing these strategies, you can prevent unconfirmed payments from overloading the Ethereum network and ensure smoother transaction processing times using JSON-RPC API requests.