Scalability issues force Xapo to pass transaction fees to bitcoin users

Switzerland-based bitcoin wallet provider Xapo has told its customers that they will have to pay the transaction fees themselves when moving funds from their accounts.

Digital currency users often attach a fee to any cryptocurrency-related transaction as an incentive for miners to include that transaction in their next block. While transaction fees are voluntary on the part of the person making the transaction, it’s worth noting that transactions with higher fees have better chances of being included by a miner.

In an email, Xapo told its clients that they are now responsible for the said fee, although transfers between Xapo accounts will not be charged, The Merkle reported. The bitcoin wallet provider said none of the fees will go to it directly—rather, think of it as “simply the fee that needs to be paid to miners in order for an outgoing transaction to be processed via the bitcoin network.”

Xapo said the fee will be calculated “in a dynamic manner,” based on the current bitcoin network conditions.