Bitcoin Transaction Results in $3 Million Overpayment in Fees

Bitcoin User Accidentally Pays $3.1 Million Transaction Fee

A user of Bitcoin (BTC) made a transaction today that resulted in a record-breaking transaction fee of over $3.1 million, setting a new high for single Bitcoin transactions in U.S. dollar terms. This fee is more than six times the previous record of $500,000 paid in September. The transaction occurred at 9:59 a.m. UTC and involved transferring 55.77 BTC ($2.1 million) by paying 83.65 BTC ($3.1 million). The user overpaid by 120,528 times the intended amount, according to Bitcoin explorer Mempool.

Newly Activated Address Involved in the Transaction

The address used to make this payment was activated earlier today and had made three Bitcoin transactions before incurring the record fee on the fourth transaction. The receiving address is also relatively new, dating back to October 16.

AntPool Mined the Transaction

The transaction was mined by AntPool in block 818,087, according to the blockchain explorer Blockchair. AntPool has not yet commented on the transaction or responded to requests for comment.

Paxos’ Overpayment Fee Returned

The previous record fee of $500,000 paid in September was identified as an overpayment by crypto services provider Paxos. F2Pool, the miner involved in that transaction, agreed to reimburse Paxos for the fee. It remains unknown who is behind this latest transaction fee, and it is unclear if AntPool would be willing to reach a similar agreement.

About Author

James Hunt is a reporter at The Block based in the UK. He provides daily crypto news updates and has been writing in the industry for four years. His coverage includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, NFTs, and regulatory developments. You can connect with James on Twitter or Telegram via @humanjets or email him at [email protected].

Hot Take: User Accidentally Pays Record-Breaking Transaction Fee

A Bitcoin user recently made a costly mistake by accidentally paying a transaction fee of over $3.1 million. This incident set a new record for the highest transaction fee in U.S. dollars for a single Bitcoin transaction. The user overpaid by more than 120,000 times the intended amount. The address used for the payment was newly activated, and the receiving address was relatively new as well. AntPool mined the transaction but has not commented on it yet. This incident brings to mind the previous case where Paxos overpaid a fee, which was later returned. It remains to be seen if a similar agreement will be reached in this case.