Rock-Bottom Bitcoin Fees See Community Eye $5,000 Bitcoin Price After SegWit Lock-In

Bitcoin (BTC) fees are at their lowest in months despite Bitcoin Cash (BCH/BCC) trading, as SegWit lock-in is set for just two days’ time.

As the BTC mempool hovers around multi-month lows, users are celebrating both the cost of transactions and the imminent point of no return for SegWit activation.

#Bitcoin #fees are incredibly low again!

Send a million bucks worth for 15¢ USD. — ~gdv (@GabrielDVine) August 6, 2017

According to 21.co’s fee calculator, the current ‘ideal’ fee rate for sending BTC is 100 satoshis per byte - significantly lower than readings from May to July, when a recommended 450 satoshis was not uncommon.

Aug. 9 meanwhile will see the lock-in threshold for SegWit on BTC finally trigger, all but guaranteeing the technology.

SegWit will pave the way so layer-two implementations such as Lightning Network transactions, which in turn will ensure long-term efficiency for users sending BTC and avoid mempool clogging seen in recent months.

Among those anticipating was BTCC CEO Bobby Lee, who also ran a Twitter survey asking followers to name a Bitcoin price once the lock-in occurs.

Once #SegWit is locked in for #Bitcoin around August 8-9, will $BTC break its all-time-high price?
What $$$?
?#Retweet & let’s ask everyone! — Bobby Lee (@bobbyclee) August 6, 2017

The results of the survey, which has so far received almost 2,500 votes, point to a further price increase over $3,500 after Aug. 9. 50 percent of respondents consider prices could go even higher - over $5,000.