Transaction fees

[QuickBitcoins]

When these are paid "to the network" where exactly do they go?

[1714107404]

1714107404

[1714107404]

1714107404

[Blazr]

To the miner that mined the block your transaction is in.

Reward for solving a block is 50BTC + transaction fees.

[freewil]

Also note that once the maximum number of Bitcoins are created (~21 million) fees will become more important to the network as the miner will no longer receive new Bitcoins as a reward.

[Gladamas]

As the number of digits in the amount of Bitcoins sent in a transaction increases, the higher the transaction fee will be. For example the transaction fee for sending 103089.42, 0.42810382, or 53.1345 Bitcoins will be higher than if you are sending 2 Bitcoins in a transaction.

EDIT: See https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=74175.msg820964#msg820964 and https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=74175.msg875410#msg875410 for information on transaction fees.

[jack-o-lantern]

Also note that once the maximum number of Bitcoins are created (~21 million) fees will become more important to the network as the miner will no longer receive new Bitcoins as a reward.

Is it possible to increase the amount of bitcoins?

When it reaches the maximum number of bitcoins, could we assume that the fee will be increasingly expensive?

[Red Emerald]

Also note that once the maximum number of Bitcoins are created (~21 million) fees will become more important to the network as the miner will no longer receive new Bitcoins as a reward.

Is it possible to increase the amount of bitcoins?

Not without a hard fork.  But there is no point.  Bitcoin is deflationary by design.

When it reaches the maximum number of bitcoins, could we assume that the fee will be increasingly expensive?

I don't think the per-transaction fee will really change that much, but the number of transactions will hopefully be much higher and so there will be more fees for miners to earn.

[Gladamas]

Also note that once the maximum number of Bitcoins are created (~21 million) fees will become more important to the network as the miner will no longer receive new Bitcoins as a reward.

Is it possible to increase the amount of bitcoins?

No, there is no way to increase the number of Bitcoins above 21 million. However as deflation occurs due to a lack of Bitcoin production we could deal in millibitcoins (1/1000 of a bitcoin) or microbitcoins (1/1,000,000 of a bitcoin).

[mdude77]

To the miner that mined the block your transaction is in.

Reward for solving a block is 50BTC + transaction fees.

Sooo.. does that mean the mining pools get all those fees?  Last I checked on BTCGuild, the payout is 47.5/share. 

[Red Emerald]

To the miner that mined the block your transaction is in.

Reward for solving a block is 50BTC + transaction fees.

Sooo.. does that mean the mining pools get all those fees?  Last I checked on BTCGuild, the payout is 47.5/share. 

Most pools take the transaction fees and a percent of the block.  Long live p2pool!

[freewil]

When it reaches the maximum number of bitcoins, could we assume that the fee will be increasingly expensive?

No, that assumption would be incorrect. Naturally, because of it's deflationary nature, you would expect Bitcoins themselves to get more expensive relative to other currencies, but fees I would expect to stay low, compensating miners for their equipment and electricity costs, and a healthy profit.

[mdude77]

To the miner that mined the block your transaction is in.

Reward for solving a block is 50BTC + transaction fees.

Sooo.. does that mean the mining pools get all those fees?  Last I checked on BTCGuild, the payout is 47.5/share. 

Most pools take the transaction fees and a percent of the block.  Long live p2pool!

THANK YOU!  Never heard of p2pool before.  I'm hooked now!  So long BTCGuild!