TL; DR
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Bitcoin transaction fees allow users to pay a premium for faster transactions (kind of like tipping a hostess to jump on the waiting list at a restaurant).
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Last Thursday someone sent 55 BTC and paid 83 BTC in transaction fees…which seems like a mistake…In fiat terms – that’s $3.1 million in transaction fees.
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The wallet that performed the transaction was created just minutes before it all took place. Which leads us to believe that this person rushed and made an expensive typo.
Full story
Having fat fingers while texting can get hilarious.
Our writer, for example Caite Opfer recently texted her mother:
“I am with my opponent at the orthodontist” Instead of: “I am at my appointment with the orthodontist” And she responded with “did you win?”
(Side note: Ms. Opfer sounds like a solid hang)
An example where fat fingers aren’t funny is when they lead to you overpaying millions of dollars in BTC transaction fees.
How can you mess up transaction payments?
Bitcoin transaction fees allow users to pay a premium for faster transactions.
(Kind of like tipping a hostess to jump on the waiting list at a restaurant).
Last Thursday someone sent 55 BTC and paid 83 BTC in transaction fees…which seems like a mistake…
In fiat terms – that’s $3.1 million in transaction fees.
PLUS!
The wallet that performed the transaction was created just minutes before it all took place.
Which leads us to believe that this person rushed and made an expensive typo.
…unless they wanted to set the record for the highest transaction fees ever paid in Bitcoin’s 14-year history, surpassing a fee paid last September on $500,000.
(Which was also a mistake, but was kindly refunded by the miner who received it)
Whether this will return remains to be seen.
AntPool, the mining pool that processed the transaction, has not yet published an announcement regarding the overpayment.
So, what’s the takeaway?
Whether you’re texting your mom, or casually sending $2 million in BTC to someone:
Always make sure to proofread before clicking ‘send’.