Bitcoin User's Automated Script Wastes $102,778 in Fees

A recent Bitcoin transaction paid an eye-watering 1.6 BTC in network fees, worth roughly $102,778, and delivered exactly zero coins to its intended recipient. The payment was confirmed on August 12 inside block 962,142.

The sender used an automated script that relied on Replace-by-Fee (RBF), a feature designed to help transactions jump the queue by offering higher fees. However, this particular script failed to stop at a reasonable ceiling and instead raised its bid every second, chewing deeper into the wallet balance until it consumed the entire input.

The final version of the transaction left nothing for the recipient, but Bitcoin nodes still accepted it because there is no cap on what a sender can hand over to miners. SpiderPool mined the block and pocketed the windfall, which supplied 88% of fees across that block.

Experts warn that this episode highlights the dangers of automation in self-custody wallets. Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, noted that 'no wallet is bulletproof' after a recent Coldcard wallet hack.