Each Transaction Costs the Bitcoin Network $45, Large Improvements Needed to Beat VISA

Bitcoin is sometimes cited as a potential competitor to leading payments processing service VISA. However, data from the Bitcoin blockchain suggests the network has a long way to go before it can match the convenience, speed, and cost of VISA.Examining the VISA Network's Capabilities.

Worldwide, there are 3.3 billion VISA cards in circulation on a network that boasts 65,000 transactions per second in capacity.

Based on the number of transactions and the total spent, the average transaction is $88.How Bitcoin Compares.

In the last year, there were 88 million confirmed Bitcoin transactions with $264 billion in value transacted over the network.

Miners grossed $4 billion in block rewards and fees, meaning the true cost per transaction on the network is over $45. This cost is often imperceptible because of the volatility of BTC prices and the growing user base of investors.

Expressed as a percentage, the fee to send one dollar over the Bitcoin network costs an average of 1.5 percent.

Transaction sizes using bitcoin are much larger, likely as a function of higher fixed-rate fees.

In 2018, the median transaction value on the Bitcoin network is roughly $300 while the mean transaction value is $3,000.

Bitcoin currently has a block size limit of 2 MB. Over 2018, each block contained an average of 1,670 transactions and consumed an average of 0.9 MB of the 2 MB block maximum.

Thus, the network would need to see over a 10,000-fold improvement to match VISA. Given the limitations of the Bitcoin network, it seems unlikely that the cryptocurrency will become a medium-of-exchange unless there are monumental improvements from layer 2 solutions such as Lightning Network.