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In a cyberspace where Bitcoin is a "city," how much do residents have to pay? Kostenlose Bilder mit KI/flickr

KEY POINTS

  • One user pointed to a deeper discussion behind Bitcoin being a city: rent payments
  • Another user noted that Bitcoin 'rent' is high at this point
  • BTC transaction fees climbed during and after the halving due to lower supply and higher demand

Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor has been posting on X (formerly Twitter) daily about what he thinks BTC is to the world, and his latest statement has brought attention to the high "rent" around the use of the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

"Bitcoin is a City in Cyberspace," Saylor wrote in a post. Enthusiasts gathered under the comments section to boost his post, as is always the case whenever MicroStrategy's founder and executive chairman talks about Bitcoin.

One user noted how Bitcoin is a city that bustles with innovation and opportunity. Another user pointed out that BTC is like Rome, which "wasn't built in a day," seemingly referring to the growth Bitcoin experienced over the years. You'd want to "secure a home" in the digital city BTC has become, one user said.

The official X handle of the crypto exchange Kraken also commented, saying "El Salvador has entered the chat." The Central American nation is known for becoming the first nation to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. It has also been stacking up on Bitcoins on a daily basis.

Others commented with visuals of what they think Bitcoin city looks like.

Just as with any new technology, there are individuals who doubt whether the world's first decentralized digital asset merits being labeled a "city." One user, in particular, argued that the digital coin is "heavily manipulated," which is why it is difficult to see mainstream adoption.

Buried within the many comments of Bitcoiners who share Saylor's view of the digital currency was one user who asked: "How much is rent?" Only one user responded to the question, saying "transaction fees are the rent, and it's a lot."

During the halving – wherein BTC mining rewards are split in half to reduce the rate at which new Bitcoins are released into the market – miners, who are paid with a certain amount of Bitcoin for their work in digging up the coins, collectively earned $78.3 million in transaction fees, as per Forbes. The said amount set an all-time high for USD-denominated BTC network fee revenue on the Bitcoin network.

Furthermore, miners earned $89.8 million only between April 19 and April 20, a number that exceeded their total earnings by some $4 million for the entire month of March.

Such high "rent" has become a bane to Bitcoin holders who have a smaller stash than whales, as their transaction costs may exceed the sats – the smallest monetary units of BTC – they actually own.

The surge in BTC transaction fees stems from the supply-demand system. Higher demand at a time when supplies have become scarcer translates to higher fees since users of the digital asset compete to get miners to prioritize their transactions.

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