Growing interest in BTC, Bitcoin transaction fees up over 500%

The explosion in BTC trading has caused transaction fees for the cryptocurrency to skyrocket.

The latest blockchain data shows that Bitcoin transaction fees have increased over 500 percent since the start of the year, with many lower-fee transactions taking hours before being finalized.

The speed and throughput of a blockchain have a large impact on the transaction fees on these networks, and in many cases its success.

On Jan. 1st, a bitcoin transaction cost $0.18.

The sudden increase has once again sparked debate as to whether these large fees run counterintuitive to bitcoin's purpose as a 'currency,' as opposed to an alternative asset.

In the short-run, these high fees seem unlikely to put a damper on bitcoin's upwards price movement.

Higher fees also serve as an indicator for growing interest in bitcoin.

As with most things around the cryptocurrency, it's hard to know with certainty whether factors such as transaction fees will impact its price in the short-term.

Simply put, fees go up as more Bitcoin is moved across the network.

The sharp rise in transaction fees doesn't seem to have stopped bitcoin from breaking above $5,000.