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Bitcoin Fees: How To Check When You’re Sending A Transaction (2020)
In this article, I’m going to address how to check what the bitcoin fees are for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Not many people think about the “fees” when sending their first bitcoin transaction, as it’s just so exhilarating that you can transact value without permission from a bank or other institution.
This is really a minute detail, however the fees for sending a bitcoin transaction back in 2017 was upwards of 75$ when it was at it’s peak. This means you need to be able to determine if the fees are a “fair” price at a moments notice and if it will significantly cost you to move your bitcoin.
Luckily, there are a few different resources you can use to check not only what the current bitcoin fees are, but also check out the fees for other cryptocurrencies and Ethereum as well. Additionally, you need to be able to determine what the cost structure is and if you can pay more for a priority transaction. Well, I’m here to break it all down for you. Let’s get started with the #1 resource I use on a regular basis to check the current fees for sending bitcoin in a transaction!
Before I jump down there, I wanted to provide you with a free resource for protecting your cryptocurrency and it’s a free e-book I recently wrote and you can obtain it for free on my website here at the top right corner in an orange button. “5 Best Ways To Secure Your Cryptocurrency” is available to download now! Go grab it!
HOW TO CHECK BITCOIN FEES ON BITCOINFEES.INFO
Bitcoinfees.info is one of the best resources to check real-time bitcoin fees and what amount of time you would need to wait for your transaction to be confirmed for that fee. For example, it will let you know what the estimated fee is if you want it confirmed in the next block (10 mins), within the next 3 blocks (30 mins), or next 6 blocks (60 mins).
As you wait longer the fees will go down, but not drastically. To provide a frame of reference, the current fees at the time of this writing is $2.17 USD fee for having my transaction in the next block and $0.78 cents in the next 6 blocks.
This varies and fluctuates and is determined by the demand in volume and what specific mining pools are charging and maintaining a competitive marketplace. Why are there fees if they receive a block reward already? Well, to put it frankly, because they can.
Bitcoin miners are the groups of people that use their hash power to ensure the transaction is not only confirmed, but that it’s also safe and secure. It is a necessary component for the network and ecosystem to flourish and maintain economic incentive.
This site also shows your daily, monthly, and yearly averages in the form of charts and graphs to show you how this progresses overtime. They also consider that the average bitcoin transaction is 250 satoshis per byte large for measuring these averages. This also includes the basis of the 1 MB blocks that the current block size represents and would not relate to the fees for the lightning network.
HOW TO CHECK BITCOIN FEES ON COINBASE
The fees charged by Coinbase are pretty low. But they can add up, especially if you use the service often. You will see the buying and selling fees we described above.
There may also be fixed and variable fees depending on the amount of the transaction. And when your purchases are smaller, there is a flat fee charged.
Here are the flat fees for the smaller transactions:
- If you are buying or selling in the amount of $10.99 or less, the fee is $0.99
- If you are buying or selling between $11 and 26.49, the fee is $1.49
- If you are buying or selling from $26.50 to $51.99, the fee is $1.99
- If you are buying or selling from $52 to $78.05, the fee is $2.99
This is a fairly low and tiered system, but as you can see, this fee is for Coinbase and does not include any miner fees or network fees. So please keep in mind that that you will need to add the two totals together in order to find out what you will actually be paying.
HOW TO CHECK ETHEREUM FEES
For ETH, I typically go to ETH Gas Station for this information as it’s the most real-time and accurate in my experience. When sending Ether in a transaction, it uses a component of fees known as “Gas”. What is gas? It’s essentially a fraction of Ethereum that is required to pay for the transaction and is typically much cheaper than bitcoin transaction fees. This also applies to ERC-20 tokens and security tokens as well as they are built on top of the Ethereum network.
This has several other tools to estimate transactions for a specific block and also if you want it applied to s specific smart contract on the network. It includes anything else you may need to know including what mining pools are currently verifying on the network, what the estimated wait time is to have your transaction included in a specific block, and also how full or empty these blocks are.
All in all, this is the only resource I need when trying to estimate how much I will be paying in fees and the only other resource I might use is the specific block explorer I would use in order to verify the status of my transaction. For those of you who do not know what a block explorer is, it is basically a way for you to check the status of your transaction and how many confirmations it’s received before it’s delivered to the recipient.
CONCLUSION
Overall, these are the most common resources you will use to check the transaction fees for bitcoin and Ethereum as these are the largest networks by volume and therefore, the most likely to be used when sending crypto. You can also check each individual blockchain if you want to determine what the fees are for, say “Monero” for example.
In the event I want to know what the estimated fees for that example would be to attempt a transaction when sending from my hot wallet, or I would simply use google and include the “coins name + transaction fees” to get the most accurate result. These examples hopefully clarify some of the questions that surround how much you will pay in fees at an given time on these popular coins and networks. Until next time…
What are your favorite resources to check crypto transaction fees? Sound off in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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Crypto VPN | 2 Best VPN’s To Use When Sending, Receiving, Or Exchanging Bitcoin
In this article, I am going to share with you why it’s best to use a VPN with all of your bitcoin related dealings with a crypto vpn. I recently had an experience where I was sending and receiving some bitcoin with a friend of mine and I was in a rush and I forgot to enable my VPN to process the transaction.
At first, I didn’t think too much of it, but then I received an email indicating that it detected me sending it from a different IP address. This was a blunt reminder that even when you aren’t conscious of it, all of your dealings on the internet are being watched and recorded by your ISP, and in some cases, even the wallet or exchange you are sending or withdrawing your coins from.
This is why using a VPN is not only important for your everyday internet browsing, but particularly when you are dealing with sending, receiving, or exchanging bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Before I get into the meat of the article, I just wanted to remind my readers that I recently wrote an e-book that details the 5 best ways to secure your cryptocurrency. This is an in-depth guide that goes into the best tips and tricks for managing your cryptocurrency and specifically the best practices on how to store and diversify your holdings. Click HERE to check it out, it’s free!
So let’s get right into what a VPN is, and why you need one! Let’s go!
What Is A VPN?
A VPN (or Virtual Private Network) is designed to obfuscate or block your current IP address, which includes your ISP and your current location from being tracked online. Why would I need this? Well, as you probably already know, the internet is an amazing place, but it surely isn’t private. Your ISP is watching your web pages, knows your location, and can even report what you are watching and doing to the authorities, if they so choose.
This is NOT ok, as your privacy is an unalienable right. There is no reason they need to know this information and should not be strong-armed into handing it over to the authorities for any reason. This is where a VPN comes in. VPN’s are not only used for every day internet browsing, but can also used for torrenting, streaming services (like Netflix and Hulu) and also when making any financial transactions, namely crypto transactions.
With a VPN, you can cloak your location, the website’s you access, any downloads or uploads you have engaged in, and much much more. This is ideal if you want privacy for whatever you decide to do online, and the best part is, most VPN providers don’t even log what you do, so if they are contacted by authorities, they can’t even hand over anything anyways.
Why Do I Need A VPN For Bitcoin Transactions?
As mentioned above, without a VPN, all of your interactions or actions you take online are recorded with your ISP and they log all your websites, and what you do on those websites. This means, that if they wanted to, they can see your passwords, watch your private information, and use it against you. This doesn’t mean they will, but take into consideration if they get hacked. There is nothing blocking a nefarious character from taking your personal information and using it against you.
When it comes to bitcoin and crypto transactions, privacy is the MOST important thing. Period.
Do I Need A VPN For Trading On Bitcoin Exchanges?
Yes. Most exchanges (especially U.S. exchanges like Coinbase, and Bittrex) are in bed with the government and the IRS, so they are tracking what you do, where you are, and can provide a lot of identifying information. If you consent to this when using an exchange, that’s on you, however, when you use a VPN, you can take your physical location layer out of the equation. Additionally, you may want to use services like Bitmex for leverage trading or an exchange like Bitfinex that does not allow U.S. IP addresses. This would be a work around for you to gain access to products and services that are not available in your jurisdiction.
Can I Pay For A VPN With Bitcoin Or Other Cryptocurrencies?
Yes. I recommend using either NordVPN or ExpressVPN, as I use both personally. They are not based in the U.S., so they are not subject to any of the regulations or over-reaching by our government, so that is a huge relief and provides peace of mind. You can click the link below to get 75% off Nord VPN and ExpressVPN below, and I believe they offer a free-trial as well and a 30-day money back guarantee!
**CLICK HERE TO BUY NORDVPN AT 75% OFF**
**CLICK HERE TO BUY EXPRESSVPN AT 75% OFF**
Additionally, you can pay in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies when you sign up for either of these. To me, that’s a HUGE plus because it demonstrates the companies’ values and I always like to support organizations that promote using bitcoin and other crypto in every day commerce. I have a review video I did below that goes over these in a little more detail, but both are top-notch and trusted and used my millions of people for various uses. This is designed for people that value their privacy and anonymity. (Satoshi would be proud!)
Is There A Free VPN?
There is ONE that I have used in the past called Tunnel Bear, but it only allows up to 500MB per month for free. If you exceed that amount (which isn’t a lot), you will be required to upgrade and pay either a monthly or yearly fee. I used this as a starter VPN, and is the best free VPN I’ve personally used. You can use the link below to get signed up for free, and if you decide to upgrade, it will provide you 58% discount on your service.
**CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TUNNELBEAR FOR FREE**
Crypto VPN: Conclusion
Overall, you absolutely need a VPN for all of your crypto-related dealings and the options for NordVPN and ExpressVPN also have free mobile apps, so you can make sure it’s enabled on your phone if you prefer to send/receive on a mobile bitcoin wallet as well, so there is no excuse to not use one.
Trust me when I say, no matter how much of a hurry I am in, I will never forget to enable it again, and it’s just as simple as a click away, so it’s very easy to use. On a side note and on the topic of mobile apps, If you are looking for new an interesting ways to earn free bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies), you can download the LIFE INFO APP.
This app pays you in bitcoin rewards on purchases you are making anyways, and also gives you an instant discount on everything you buy. There is no reason NOT to do this, as there is no catch, and you save money. If you’re buying these items anyway, you may as well save money and earn bitcoin for free. I will leave an in-depth review of this HERE for you to check it out and will answer more of your questions, but I strongly recommend you check it out.
What do you think? Do you use a VPN for sending and receiving bitcoin? Let me know in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
