Coinbase Moves to Cut Blockchain Load With Bitcoin Batching

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has started grouping multiple bitcoin transactions together, rather than issue sends one by one.

The adoption of “batching,” the firm said in a blog post Thursday, will mean less strain is put on the Bitcoin blockchain from large numbers of transactions arising from the popular exchange. The move will further reduce transaction fees for customers, according to the post.

“We anticipate that this will reduce our load on the Bitcoin network by more than 50 percent, and the network fees our customers pay will automatically be reduced by an equivalent amount when sending,” wrote Eli Haims, Coinbase product manager.

Batching is already live, with the firm warning that it will add a “small delay” in sends being broadcast to the network, but will not impact the time it takes for users’ transactions to be confirmed.

The change will have its effect by reducing the number of transaction that need to be processed by the many, but still limited,…