Sometimes I stare at that transaction in my wallet queuing in the mempool, feeling like waiting in line at a weekend bubble tea shop: placing an order doesn’t mean you’ll get it right away, if there are too many people in front, you just have to wait, the more impatient you are, the more people are willing to tip extra to cut in line (just paying higher fees), and then your transaction gets pushed to the back... What’s more annoying is that during congestion, it might even get stuck, making you doubt everything—canceling, resubmitting, raising fees, going back and forth—once emotions kick in, it’s easy to swing between “hurry up and confirm” and “don’t be the sucker paying extra.” Looking back, I’ve seen some interpret ETF fund flows and risk appetite in the US stock market as tied to crypto price swings, but actually, on-chain, it’s more like a queuing system: when everyone gets nervous, they all crowd at the same entrance, and no matter how fast the speed, it still gets congested. I’d rather confirm slowly than place orders emotionally during a jam.