Cryptocurrencies are far out-performing fiat in terms of transaction fees, with some averaging a penny or less. Here’s an overview of five cryptocurrencies and how they stack up to typical wire transfers.
The cryptocurrency Nano, formerly RaiBlocks, processes transactions with zero fees. According to the team,
“Because the protocol is incredibly lightweight and running a node costs next to nothing, Nano’s transactions are processed with no fees. One transaction fits within a single UDP packet, and transactions are handled independently, eliminating any block size issue.”
XRP is well-known for being extremely cost-effective. Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and the hedge fund Arrington XRP Capital, says he moved millions using XRP and the transaction cost pennies.
The average transaction fee for XRP is currently $0.0007, according to BitInfoCharts.
Monero, a cryptocurrency with privacy features that mask identities of users who send and receive it, just announced that the average cost of a transaction is roughly $0.005-$0.01. Previously, average transaction fees were $0.20-$0.25.
While Bitcoin transaction fees have been historically prohibitively expensive, making BTC an ineffective means for micropayments and day-to-day purchases at a coffee shop, the high-flying fees have fallen back down to Earth.
On October 15, the blockchain shows that $194 million in Bitcoin was moved for .00001464 BTC or $0.10.
In December 2017, an overloaded Bitcoin network led to sky-high transaction fees, with averages spiking to $52.
Bitcoin’s current transaction fee average is $0.47.
Transaction fees for Ethereum have also declined since their peak in December 2017, with current averages around $0.12.
Transferwise, a fintech company that reduces fees for traditional cross-border fiat transactions, charges roughly $5,000 to move $1 million, according to their pricing calculator.
Conventional wire transfers can cost tens of thousands in fees for $1 million.
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