Startups See Service Outages Amid Ethereum Blockchain Backlog

Jun 21, 2017 at 19:25 UTCUpdated Jun 22, 2017 at 15:25 UTC. The ethereum blockchain is beginning to show signs it's being impacted by a new influx of users.

Amid a surge in mainstream media interest, not to mention projects raising funds via initial coin offerings, transaction backlogs were visible on the network.

Data from ethereum information provider Etherscan shows that more than 300,000 transactions were broadcast on 20th June, the highest amount ever observed on the two-year-old blockchain.

The rise in activity has also pushed the size of ethereum's transaction blocks - which change dynamically - to new highs, while the amount of gas used to send transactions, a kind of charge for processing power, has climbed to new heights as well.

An ICO hosted yesterday by the ethereum messenger app Status has been blamed by some for the inflow of transactions it attracted to the smart contract associated with the sale.

The market price of ether has declined amid the congestion, falling more than 9% since the day's open.

Another possible factor: the use of a transaction tumbler by AlphaBay.

One market vendor suggested that the need to cycle transactions - thereby creating a host of new ones while obfuscating their original source - had contributed to the delays.

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