Just swiped on the blockchain on the subway, and it occurred to me: during congestion, the transaction you send is actually queuing in the mempool. It’s broadcasted out first, miners/validators pick and pack, whoever offers a bigger tip (gas) gets on first; if you offer too little, it stays stuck, and after a while, it might be replaced by another transaction with the same nonce, or simply expire and be forgotten by the node. The most annoying thing is that you see “Sent” on your wallet, but inside you’re as anxious as waiting for food delivery, getting more and more nervous the longer you wait.

Recently, the calendar for staking unlocks and token unlocks has been repeatedly brought up, everyone fears that a sell-off will make the chain even more congested. I think this kind of sentiment most easily leads people into the “rush to settle” rhythm. Anyway, I prefer to go slower: if it’s urgent, just add a little tip; if not, let it queue up, don’t mess up the whole plan for a few minutes. Take it slow, you can handle a retracement, and you can handle queuing.