Network Congestion

Network congestion occurs when a blockchain network becomes overloaded with transactions, leading to slow processing times and higher transaction fees. Congestion can happen during periods of high demand, such as when a popular decentralized application (dApp) experiences a surge in usage or when a new token sale attracts a large number of participants. When congestion occurs, users often need to pay higher fees (gas fees) to prioritize their transactions for faster processing. Ethereum, for example, has faced significant congestion issues due to its limited scalability, prompting the development of Layer-2 solutions like Optimism and zk-Rollups.