Mempool (Memory Pool) is a pool of unconfirmed transactions stored in the memory of a cryptocurrency network node. A mempool is created when the node receives new transactions from its peers, and stores them until they are included in a block on the blockchain.
The purpose of mempools is to allow nodes to quickly verify whether or not incoming transactions have already been processed by preventing double-spending. When miners create new blocks, they select which transactions from their mempools should be included in it, based on certain criteria such as transaction fees offered and priority given to high value or time-sensitive payments.
In addition to validating pending transactions, mempools can also offer insight into how well the network is functioning at any given moment: if there are many pending transactions with high fees that remain unconfirmed for an extended period of time, this could indicate higher demand than capacity for processing payments and could lead to clogged networks.
The size of each individual node’s mempool will vary depending on factors such as bandwidth availability and configuration settings; however, typically most nodes contain several hundred megabytes worth of data made up by thousands of different pending transactions waiting for confirmation. As more users send payments over the network and these get added onto each node’s respective mempools, those sizes increase accordingly.
For users looking to make sure that their own payment has gone through successfully without issues such as double spending taking place or delays occurring due to excessive congestion on the blockchain’s part – checking your own wallet’s list of recent outgoing/incoming payments alongside monitoring your chosen cryptocurrency’s public block explorer page where all confirmed (and also pending) transfers can be seen will give you peace-of-mind knowing that your funds were sent properly across safely & securely!
