Last night, I wanted to casually transfer a small NFT, but it got stuck there for a long time without moving, and I suddenly remembered: during congestion, your transaction is actually queued in the mempool, like holding a number and waiting to be called. Miners/validators prioritize those who tip more; if you tip less, you can only watch others go first, and if there's a pending transaction from the same address ahead of you, you'll be penalized and have to wait in line too.

What's more interesting is that when big transfers on the chain or hot and cold wallets of exchanges move, the comment section starts saying "smart money is coming." Basically, it might just be that they can afford higher priority fees and get through faster than you... My current approach is pretty cowardly: if it's not urgent, I wait; if it is urgent, I pay a little extra tip. Don't hardball with congestion—it's more about mindset than fees.