Bitcoin's Biggest Startups Are Backing a New Effort to Keep Fees Low

Sure, the situation wasn't long to last, as fees fell back to manageable levels, but the worry is this spike could always happen again - if, or dare we say it, when, bitcoin "Goes mainstream."

Fees don't have to be as high next time there's a spike in the cryptocurrency's use, at least that's the argument being put forward by those launching a new effort called Bitcoin Optech.

Led by bitcoin developer and Bitcoin Core contributor John Newbery, the effort is an attempt to help the companies that rely on the bitcoin software figure out what scaling technologies they're missing, including those that will push fees lower.

The bug fix Segregated Witness activated last August, but bitcoin businesses were slow to adopt the change, even though it can cut fees by half.

The non-profit effort also boasts six member companies so far, including Coinbase, Square and BitGo, all who've expressed what they believe is a need for an effort like Bitcoin Optech.

Bitcoin Optech has made contact with 15 to 20 bitcoin companies, saying they're surprised by how excited they are to adopt various scaling technologies.

Fee estimation tools in bitcoin wallets today often tell users they should pay fees much higher than they actually need to be paying.

Speaking about these very strategies, the Bitcoin Optech team, joined by Bitcoin Core contributor Andrew Chow, held their first workshop in San Francisco.

The Bitcoin Optech team stressed that they don't want to be any sort of "Central authority" telling bitcoin companies what they should and shouldn't do.

They've been sending out weekly newsletters describing the most recent additions to Bitcoin Core, the most popular bitcoin client.