Some dummy necro-bumped this. Please ignore.

[DannyHamilton]

EDIT: This thread was necro-bumped 13 months later on Feb. 28, 2014.  This is long since resolved and does not apply to any current bitcoin exchange issues.  I'm locking this topic now to prevent further bumps that might lead to confusion among those that don't pay attention to the dates on threads that they are reading.

According to willnye here:

. . . My transaction (http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52509782/9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115) has been unconfirmed for like 8 hours now and I think I traced the backup to the OPs transaction by using bitcoincharts. I guess there is no recourse right? I just hope I didn't just lose 13btc because of random chance . . .

This was a payment from coinbase to my wallet. I didn't do anything wrong (I don't think)

coinbase.com used this unconfirmed 13 BTC output from this transaction:
http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52509763/0

As an input into this transaction:
http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52509782/9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115

I certainly wouldn't be comfortable knowing that the currency exchange that I'm using is disbursing funds on unconfirmed outputs, and using them as inputs.  Way to much risk of a double spend, or a screwed up transaction that never confirms.  I won't be recommending coinbase.com to anyone unless/until they make good on this transaction, and I'd suggest that anyone who currently uses coinbase.com contact them and let them know that you are not happy with this practice.[/size]

[1715505554]

1715505554

[1715505554]

1715505554

[weex]

It looks like you have a chain of a couple unconfirmed transactions there. I'd say that's pretty special and not a good thing.

If you trace back each of your inputs you come to this transaction that is unconfirmed due to a 0.0005 from CoinAd.

http://blockchain.info/tx/89bd0a78f990a9956d07d20742eecb72334e2ec09b0f004f347c1bec2da8e666

[Rothgar]

Woah!! 23kb transaction with only a .0005 fee.  No wonder it hasn't confirmed.  The days of cheap transactions like this are numbered. 

http://blockchain.info/tx/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b

[DannyHamilton]

It looks like you have a chain of a couple unconfirmed transactions there. I'd say that's pretty special and not a good thing.

Woah!! 23kb transaction with only a .0005 fee.  No wonder it hasn't confirmed . . .

I agree. coinbase.com should not be accepting transactions like this, and definitely should not be using the output from a transaction like this as the input to a transaction where they are sending someone funds after taking money from their bank account. coinbase.com should not be recommended until/unless they resolve this issue.

[willnye]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

[DannyHamilton]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

willnye,

You can confirm that the following transaction is from coinbase to your wallet, correct?
http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52509782/9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115

If so, then it doesn't really matter to me why the following output is unconfirmed:
http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52509763/0

The fact that it is unconfirmed means that coinbase should not be using it for customers who are trying to acquire bitcoin. There is simply too much risk of the transaction either never confirming, or ending up part of a double spend.  If coinbase wants to take the risk of paying out cash without waiting for confirmations, that's up to them, but they should not be forcing that risk onto their customers.

The person who created that original transaction could re-use the outputs from their transaction and include a nice fee so that a miner confirms it and suddenly the current chain of transactions from those outputs ceases to exist.  coinbase isn't out anything, because they already forced the risk onto you.  You however are suddenly without your bitcoins. It could happen today, next week, or in a few months.

[payb.tc]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

in any case, don't give up on the 13 BTC, and keep your wallet backups safe

it's possible that a miner could be offered additional financial incentive after the fact, to include an old unconfirmed TX in its next block

in this scenario, coinad should probably be the one to offer the incentive, although stakeholders such as yourself might also volunteer some payment in order to get it processed

(or coinbase, if they value their reputation)

[DannyHamilton]

(or coinbase, if they value their reputation)

This.  Very much so.

[Peter Todd]

FWIW one way this may have happened is if they accepted one (or possibly two) confirmations as sufficient to re-use the txout to make another transaction, and then the block that confirmed the tx was orphaned and that tx was not picked up by another miner. The reference Bitcoin client works this way.

Not quite as negligent, but they still should really be waiting at least two confirmations, preferably 3 or more, given they are handling other peoples' money.

[FreeMoney]

I'm nearly certain coinbase will pay if you pester them. This or something similar has happened twice to Seals players and it has been fixed by coinbase sending new funds.

[brian_armstrong]

Hi everyone.  Sorry for the trouble on that.

This tx did cause us some issues.  https://coinbase.com/network/transactions/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b  and should not have been used as an input - that was our error.

We are pushing out a fix for this now so transactions like this should not be used in the future.  Luke-Jr was kind enough to starting mining it for us (we sent him a bounty).  Hopefully it should be cleared up soon.  Apologies again for the trouble and thank you for bearing with us.

[DannyHamilton]

Hi everyone.  Sorry for the trouble on that.

This tx did cause us some issues.  https://coinbase.com/network/transactions/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b  and should not have been used as an input - that was our error.

We are pushing out a fix for this now so transactions like this should not be used in the future.  Luke-Jr was kind enough to starting mining it for us (we sent him a bounty).  Hopefully it should be cleared up soon.  Apologies again for the trouble and thank you for bearing with us.

Thanks for the update.  Glad to hear you are fixing the software.

[jerfelix]

I have no affiliation with Coinbase, but I think it's worth pointing out that they have been extremely responsive to people's feedback, and are providing a very valuable service (allowing people in the US to get into Bitcoin with minimal fuss at a reasonable fee level).  

So panic messages, like "Don't use this service until this gets fixed" are a bit extreme at this point.  Time and time again, Coinbase has stepped forward to address issues, at cost to them.

My reaction to this alarmist post was "meh, they'll get it fixed.  I just won't pull coins out for a few days."  

[ingrownpocket]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

in any case, don't give up on the 13 BTC, and keep your wallet backups safe

it's possible that a miner could be offered additional financial incentive after the fact, to include an old unconfirmed TX in its next block

in this scenario, coinad should probably be the one to offer the incentive, although stakeholders such as yourself might also volunteer some payment in order to get it processed

(or coinbase, if they value their reputation)

How? The only address I control is the change address.

[payb.tc]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

in any case, don't give up on the 13 BTC, and keep your wallet backups safe

it's possible that a miner could be offered additional financial incentive after the fact, to include an old unconfirmed TX in its next block

in this scenario, coinad should probably be the one to offer the incentive, although stakeholders such as yourself might also volunteer some payment in order to get it processed

(or coinbase, if they value their reputation)

How? The only address I control is the change address.

doesn't matter what you control

i don't control any of it, but i could still offer Mining Pool XYZ a reward for including that rogue transaction in their next block for me

the tx was initially created by coinad, with an insufficient fee. so i was suggesting that coinad be the ones to offer additional financial incentive to mining pools to get it over the line... financial incentive that probably should have been included in the tx in the first place.

[ingrownpocket]

I will update if anything happens, as well as let you know anything that Coinbase gets back to me with. I'm not an expert with this bitcoin stuff, but there are not any alternative explanations, right?

in any case, don't give up on the 13 BTC, and keep your wallet backups safe

it's possible that a miner could be offered additional financial incentive after the fact, to include an old unconfirmed TX in its next block

in this scenario, coinad should probably be the one to offer the incentive, although stakeholders such as yourself might also volunteer some payment in order to get it processed

(or coinbase, if they value their reputation)

How? The only address I control is the change address.

doesn't matter what you control

i don't control any of it, but i could still offer Mining Pool XYZ a reward for including that rogue transaction in their next block for me

the tx was initially created by coinad, with an insufficient fee. so i was suggesting that coinad be the ones to offer additional financial incentive to mining pools to get it over the line... financial incentive that probably should have been included in the tx in the first place.

I run CoinAd.
How should I proceed?

EDIT: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143266

[DannyHamilton]

Wow! It surprises me how many people are willing to accept a long chain of unconfirmed transactions. Also, there are some decent fees there for a forward looking miner to pick up.  If this happens occasionally, I'd think there'd be some incentive for someone to code one.

I got bored and tried to trace them all down, but this is as far as I got before something else came up that I needed to do:

Given this transaction:

http://blockchain.info/tx/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b
(fee 0.0005BTC) (23,857 bytes)


All these later transactions are unconfirmed and waiting on it
(* indicates transactions that were traced through all subsequent transactions at the time I looked at it):

http://blockchain.info/tx/0c2a111573f78ab9e48c4c70d63e80fca8daaeaeedcd2db5dd77a49e16767b82 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/13d719953efdad24e601766abf2523ef87f29a2a6d3e2a92daf3df9d42c0852c (fee 0.0005 BTC) (607 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/19e2170d1ace3d19001626c655d23166f64eae37aa9308ecab59e5f8dab949c6 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,373 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/1bd4a0451ab0ac24b9fe80d7da17cc8bcacbc32c1ed33503fe61f6c4e85d435b (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/1fef207bddd1d98a6c145418c85cf335066c9f613ee12c45c1afdd480d58bf5f (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/2050cb1cddf6a52a783b20a784ff773f55d33829a12369c34e50975a6536fc73 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2df7b911922ed0be567d57831696ca670d1ac1a07c8da7a64b1b9d09a7f99c1b (fee 0.0005 BTC) (609 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/33d30b1a1f852e5eae29e6299566c5d552f40f2a90f2337218981fc497d920ea (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/38b67f3efab2e6e3f9526c40d9381de1f006eb37f226d1b435041cdcfbbd0a55 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/3b5ae97baebb5385fac2c275066e8c07c4316766c281fac2777db7045f7ebf02 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (471 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/44eb1fb6f8a7e131655e50164556d4ad54be981a69ca320832f21421323d93f5 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/4db42eb77dcbdaacfb9c1462d7dfadd7e85a3bdac1d59024de170fb45be395a2 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (608 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/559f0da862382cc0e6f3810b137ff9bb76d7d44efab04b9106e49c49c1e4f0b8 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (574 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/57787fec1a969d8635c9179844dd703522ee92aae673e67d0b46737205274d73 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/5a375b87b3cdbf546c6889c98c937addbdfe7c1b0a9a635d63e9576fe0633a9b (fee 0.0005 BTC) (787 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/5e35b78e0deedbb3480aab7a8b87a4d6bd36a8acfd372240127ed7e49eb5ab6d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (831 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/60623b926af1551021b439ea7e93cc67a9a20bada881711daa46d13258d41d59 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/6906327a202ddaaa60dbf9d179de32866c750cc24d7d8fc3a3c5ffd909b87efe (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/6ac5057bd3d050b7f2cff394de16962c48d2fd52d03fc6a427403c1ac159c476 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (472 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/6f8ab2f2be000577ad48f6bbda9a39297f8b0e13012c18bf8096ff4751c3bdaa (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/7029a7c0e762c6dbff49e1f7dd2e7e02ef30729ef6fea7ec47f19c05c34c863d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/88e3553e5040495162022c40ebebde9fe83270883904c8744551a58da7af3d72 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,191 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/898a2ef6c816245897c52df475a95900d015b920c161caa2ba045aa780f655a2 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (472 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/89bd0a78f990a9956d07d20742eecb72334e2ec09b0f004f347c1bec2da8e666 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,160 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/8eaf8d151f202b9eead32262249b22f652e181189dba581840067cb2e093f8fe (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/9e21717fc2f3fcc77e7c1b21ba5da340c3cda1a4a9ef63a21f69fc19005855a9 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/a20598edf936a8e78b52e89df96a5676be2167686d6404a06b7b7200532806d0 (fee 0.0015 BTC) (2,091 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/acc9d9a62e7c1f4f3ea5fdbcec52d31de9e1a300cb6f2b0fe144826dde4bfef6 (fee 0.00035 BTC) (1,339 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/a752638db79143ab3cc23280125601193ee3e8b8fb272a52a6d6cffb82e2dc0e (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/b3f6d16d634e89197ec8bdd3b32ba7544c6e7c38e2997353f9e479d0511ebf46 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (832 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/b758cd3b44e5c4243dc704fe0797a119ddf92a0c667110c5745375a53ad5132d (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,370 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/c4beeb5f1b92d453fb732f2cee6eecc17e452b686ec56ab955fc3935c29f26b9 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (653 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/c7f7bdf7f350fc3e6cc62f9c26c1e4cf365e073a0c78814b55e47fac853d1dc1 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (833 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/ca3f06e907ba0073b0e2b5e661a79ed0960d889fdee61448101c2fdd2caad5c9 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,450 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/caf2181ea79c59dcff97606dcddd12325a8c5ee0261b9a6fc7e914192804dad7 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (654 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/da2ae698aea73ff2e956498bfe7274526a4c9ef18120b0c8e2e38d3349dd6e6d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/e030148836a74678f9b12632685583e328fb2495ce6ae675108fbab3605aba6f (fee 0.0005 BTC) (832 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/e16cd137810c54faa65223da66b6eaf79db874d6c213b0b3cc4116f0ce7b100f (fee 0.0005 BTC) (470 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/e4c53c126b6c6e9a49688290f03e9144ef531ccfe8b6693b473d50ef917757bf (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/ef2df772f53531568ee76bf8c3f46466069a279ee2618d372bd3ce347ba5221d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/f015eaf048505df8ef5fb8226829ee7c306e01ffd65de9d55cd07988b3647cf9 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/f45f5c0b50f5c015a5a418077dd5cd3a487c895195a0431ce45565bb1a7ab3cd (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/f5ade851b4c0869d68c91cea1c9adde45f31645e78af5c2378faf16803d464df (fee 0.0005 BTC) (472 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/fc187dc186668b5493772c92bfe7710d5d5a7cda5f7802673e92a4291d817f7b (fee 0.0005 BTC) (436 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/288977a549e42d43758a359a3ad50a92817487ce8388ec1a3e04bf3375bfcb08 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2e1210bd9b9987f4b47221d136bdd650c717c1487aaaaf9dc5fa3941d87487d3 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,085 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/808d4f5bd0a35335eb8a6070f6cef3e48c21a093827c3b7bbeb76d41c8ba83f8 (fee 0.0015 BTC) (2,450 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/393008fe08860de9cd3ca0b81bb69d1623b44d7989d8f86634a0ab57ce1a696e (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,506 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/d6309fd1801a20db68ac574d662292c2c50dd98075a615db4b0b14dbfd3f94b9 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (440 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/02bf8f3084a9f98e2aff71857b0e78b391402228104549fc371e40f34da7cb22 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,911 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/5fae48d4f2f3609497d7e29b742704be340f1fbff754d77131483e69aac60194 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/d2755f2c239c0825113ccce8bad821d6453cf19a225d919830668bad6710808d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (471 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/06129cfa1e61cec147478377d137eafd55d548f914ce07a251da5d9590c52ca2 (fee 0.0005 BTC) 1,013 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/6bdf4e13f66ac816c63e8bc74910cc3d7fbd101ff344066971d87c988b5c9cb7 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (1,013 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/e029317cb3fb3b6f278f685b88a4d6033af510bdbb1079d5087e6f9d869b56d2 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (436 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2fcd1ce6eba25a7fa6c9bd84f2316afb549c8a9fc7dd7f48a72cbb9b9c309808 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,148 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/e9410e0742e74dd64e88b8800dc6bd00c5e293adcd71ec6703364e04b0859f50 (fee 0.0015 BTC) (2,045 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/b758cd3b44e5c4243dc704fe0797a119ddf92a0c667110c5745375a53ad5132d (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,370 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/19e2170d1ace3d19001626c655d23166f64eae37aa9308ecab59e5f8dab949c6 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,373 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/19e2170d1ace3d19001626c655d23166f64eae37aa9308ecab59e5f8dab949c6 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,373 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/c76dc5c4108826d29d85bb40fa905af6528806ce076b121fd424188b21bff04e (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/f03cae933d31831d59cff7f04f1a18a734892d9b2d741b60ebda5f1af33e2991 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/db229483ff441cca0aa97519289bc7e047f3409dfe105de0d9d44dd0247d0c08 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (471 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/189faa1f9372fe84590a14bd8fc61a551f627c9cf3c4ac728b30d9336d376aff (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/02bf8f3084a9f98e2aff71857b0e78b391402228104549fc371e40f34da7cb22 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,911 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/5fae48d4f2f3609497d7e29b742704be340f1fbff754d77131483e69aac60194 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/60623b926af1551021b439ea7e93cc67a9a20bada881711daa46d13258d41d59 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2e1210bd9b9987f4b47221d136bdd650c717c1487aaaaf9dc5fa3941d87487d3 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,085 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/33754e3a5577c509534b0682e0196845a0c9c87c2807d76327026be947fbb052 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2e1210bd9b9987f4b47221d136bdd650c717c1487aaaaf9dc5fa3941d87487d3 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,085 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/2e1210bd9b9987f4b47221d136bdd650c717c1487aaaaf9dc5fa3941d87487d3 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,085 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/f3f6adc82ffe4e868d1182eac3169d7aae77535ca5db7d35656a110cb4fd6577 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/2e1210bd9b9987f4b47221d136bdd650c717c1487aaaaf9dc5fa3941d87487d3 (fee 0.006 BTC) (11,085 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/3b817157e744dafa0171cfdfed0f8c87c159e4feadd2c80e7d576c0329a8ddad (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/b4a3c9d4fd03941975442bdd17168ed94628e72475eea88d5fb16dbb6c9c0f82 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (652 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/840d68cf19ae97fe0fc0d891f64f263be9d17b0610fd9cd5b455a6a6b8c57c1d (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/02bf8f3084a9f98e2aff71857b0e78b391402228104549fc371e40f34da7cb22 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,911 byes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/5fae48d4f2f3609497d7e29b742704be340f1fbff754d77131483e69aac60194 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/c01e9ba5f8b6c7056d90263fa2dfab938c939b83222efe54ad7f24be2a5c20d4 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (1,010 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/63652bb1a3491cfb63de662e61e17d36e50aa0974c9c7cb6d9a30333f1ee9f86 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/f35a2227e20ab88a4f847b0c71c687bc55513c12571e217e6903317735c58abd (fee 0.0005 BTC) (1,663 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/05da0cf6747c442b0aefb9387e06d107fdb2d8628d763f15686894dc37388174 (fee 0.002 BTC) (4,754 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/20c2fcada3b41ec1d69d47eae4518d44775000148e5969b06ee4e6444fe7f60a (fee 0.0005 BTC) (1,121 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/79ca88dbb70972a10d159ff4df047cd06e58abb214b8d73f143516af8dc8ee07 (fee 0.0 BTC) (3,106 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/7bb4f913b5d44e0da658218bb4f63cb916a622a58324d0568a13028abc752f64 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (258 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/7971fa017120b3935bf271006c5b0d20e6dfc9f5de2e3bd64d3ab048d9dc4cbc (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,700 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/4c5606a4cfdc7337589774bec9f3b76cc4119afe4df779b638c4e544f1602f5b (fee 0.0 BTC) (10,812 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/9721a81c48f6bd2b6df3b9fefcbaafc43bd812e9d0f79992adcf933280fec75f (fee 0.0055 BTC) (15,912 bytes)*

[Jouke]

EDIT: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143266

Double spend it ofcourse!

(p.s. not serious, don't do that, that is bad. But it would people teach a lesson on accepting 0-confirmation-transactions..)

[ingrownpocket]

Wow! It surprises me how many people are willing to accept a long chain of unconfirmed transactions. Also, there are some decent fees there for a forward looking miner to pick up.  If this happens occasionally, I'd think there'd be some incentive for someone to code one.

I got bored and tried to trace them all down, but this is as far as I got before something else came up that I needed to do:

Given this transaction:

http://blockchain.info/tx/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b
(fee 0.0005BTC) (23,857 bytes)


All these later transactions are unconfirmed and waiting on it:

http://blockchain.info/tx/0c2a111573f78ab9e48c4c70d63e80fca8daaeaeedcd2db5dd77a49e16767b82 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/13d719953efdad24e601766abf2523ef87f29a2a6d3e2a92daf3df9d42c0852c (fee 0.0005 BTC) (607 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/19e2170d1ace3d19001626c655d23166f64eae37aa9308ecab59e5f8dab949c6 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,373 bytes)*
http://blockchain.info/tx/1bd4a0451ab0ac24b9fe80d7da17cc8bcacbc32c1ed33503fe61f6c4e85d435b (fee 0.0005 BTC) (438 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/1fef207bddd1d98a6c145418c85cf335066c9f613ee12c45c1afdd480d58bf5f (fee 0.0005 BTC) (437 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/2050cb1cddf6a52a783b20a784ff773f55d33829a12369c34e50975a6536fc73 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (439 bytes)*
(snip)

What does the * means?

[payb.tc]

I run CoinAd.
How should I proceed?

EDIT: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143266

from the other thread:

You could directly ask some large pool operator to please include it. Maybe for a small donation to the pool.

that's essentially what i was suggesting

[DannyHamilton]

- SNIP -
All these later transactions are unconfirmed and waiting on it:

http://blockchain.info/tx/0c2a111573f78ab9e48c4c70d63e80fca8daaeaeedcd2db5dd77a49e16767b82 (fee 0.0005 BTC) (473 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/13d719953efdad24e601766abf2523ef87f29a2a6d3e2a92daf3df9d42c0852c (fee 0.0005 BTC) (607 bytes)
http://blockchain.info/tx/19e2170d1ace3d19001626c655d23166f64eae37aa9308ecab59e5f8dab949c6 (fee 0.001 BTC) (1,373 bytes)*
- SNIP -

What does the * means?

(* indicates transactions that were traced through all subsequent transactions at the time I looked at it):

[Peter Todd]

Wow! It surprises me how many people are willing to accept a long chain of unconfirmed transactions. Also, there are some decent fees there for a forward looking miner to pick up.  If this happens occasionally, I'd think there'd be some incentive for someone to code one.

Luke-Jr has a pull request called child-pays-for-parent that does this. His Eligius pool runs with this patch applied, although Eligius is relatively small and mines roughly a block a day.

[Walter Rothbard]

Wow, now I understand why a transaction I sent from coinbase last night was unconfirmed, 11 hours later this morning.  Glad to hear they are on it.

[willnye]

Wow, now I understand why a transaction I sent from coinbase last night was unconfirmed, 11 hours later this morning.  Glad to hear they are on it.

Have we had anyone from Coinbase/hear from Coinbase about this issue? I have emailed and submitted tickets, and I have received no feedback at all.

[FreeMoney]

Wow, now I understand why a transaction I sent from coinbase last night was unconfirmed, 11 hours later this morning.  Glad to hear they are on it.

Have we had anyone from Coinbase/hear from Coinbase about this issue? I have emailed and submitted tickets, and I have received no feedback at all.

Brian Armstrong has replied in this very thread.

[DannyHamilton]

Wow, now I understand why a transaction I sent from coinbase last night was unconfirmed, 11 hours later this morning.  Glad to hear they are on it.

Have we had anyone from Coinbase/hear from Coinbase about this issue? I have emailed and submitted tickets, and I have received no feedback at all.

Coinbase is aware of the issue and has claimed that they offered a bounty to at least one miner to include the offending transaction in a block so all the subsequent transactions can get confirmed. They have also claimed that they are fixing their code so this sort of thing doesn't happen in the future:

-SNIP-
We are pushing out a fix for this now so transactions like this should not be used in the future.  Luke-Jr was kind enough to starting mining it for us (we sent him a bounty).
 -SNIP-

Unfortunately, the transaction has not yet been confirmed.  Hopefully it will make it into a block today.

[mb300sd]

I'm also looking a tx that traces back to http://blockchain.info/tx/88eb395b48a6d3875d8d55a6efd34afd2e1d4e397b43f9f790479914fba0c74b

Hope this gets fixed soon...

[DannyHamilton]

I'm getting "Transacion Not Found" on all those earlier transactions when I look at blockchain.info.  Was there a double-spend on that initial transaction?  Wow, that will be quite a mess for a lot of people.

[Rothgar]

I'm getting "Transacion Not Found" on all those earlier transactions when I look at blockchain.info.  Was there a double-spend on that initial transaction?  Wow, that will be quite a mess for a lot of few people.

FTFY

But me too.  I don't see the transaction, very strange.  Maybe it was a double spend.  Anyway coinbase should make good on the transaction even if they have to eat a loss.  Zero conformation transactions are an issue.  I'll never doubt that now. 

[DannyHamilton]

. . . Wow, that will be quite a mess for a lot of few people.

FTFY

Based on the incomplete list here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143715.msg1524373#msg1524373

I'd say it is quite a bit more than a few.

[Rothgar]

I looked, the coinad transaction is still on bitcoincharts.com.  I didn't find evidence of double spending. 

[DannyHamilton]

I looked, the coinad transaction is still on bitcoincharts.com.  I didn't find evidence of double spending. 

Ok, so blockchain.info just dropped all these transactions from their memory pool. That's better. So we are still waiting for the initial transaction to make it into a block.

[piuk]

Ok, so blockchain.info just dropped all these transactions from their memory pool. That's better. So we are still waiting for the initial transaction to make it into a block.

If another nodes relays us the transaction again it will reappear on the site but for now it has been removed from the memory pool as it seems unlikely it will confirm.

[DannyHamilton]

Ok, so blockchain.info just dropped all these transactions from their memory pool. That's better. So we are still waiting for the initial transaction to make it into a block.

If another nodes relays us the transaction again it will reappear on the site but for now it has been removed from the memory pool as it seems unlikely it will confirm.

I suspect there are a lot of people hoping that it will confirm.  I believe coinbase.com has even paid a miner a bounty to confirm it:

- SNIP -
Luke-Jr was kind enough to starting mining it for us (we sent him a bounty).  Hopefully it should be cleared up soon.
 - SNIP -

[mb300sd]

Does a transaction removed from the memory pool result in a negative fee displayed on blockchain?

[Rothgar]

Does a transaction removed from the memory pool result in a negative fee displayed on blockchain?

It looks like that's a transaction that has more outputs than inputs.  I don't think the transaction will ever confirm.

[DannyHamilton]

Does a transaction removed from the memory pool result in a negative fee displayed on blockchain?

That just looks like a bad transaction. I'm a bit surprised that it would get relayed or stored in blockchain.info's memory pool. It shouldn't ever confirm.

http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52591276

Which I suppose means that none of these 655 transactions will ever confirm either since they can all trace their inputs back to that bad transaction:

http://pastebin.com/LYcMAi8X

EDIT: It looks like blockchain.info has now dropped the transaction. It no longer show up on the website.

http://blockchain.info/address/1NiamfxxTcGVDkAj5d5WcbxUiA41hR7GGM

[dree12]

Does a transaction removed from the memory pool result in a negative fee displayed on blockchain?

That just looks like a bad transaction. I'm a bit surprised that it would get relayed or stored in blockchain.info's memory pool. It shouldn't ever confirm.

http://blockchain.info/tx-index/52591276

Does the protocol allow miners to in theory include the transaction, taking a negative tx fee?

[Rothgar]

I'm pretty sure that a client will not broadcast such a transaction.  So it's unlikely to confirm.  However I do not see a problem with a negative transaction fee as long as the block has only 25 BTC more out than in. 

[mb300sd]

Looks like a blockchain bug.


18:13:53

getrawtransaction a752638db79143ab3cc23280125601193ee3e8b8fb272a52a6d6cffb82e2dc0e


18:13:53

0100000002a99dcc16468d4e370862d2b95f23a101a95aca9333341420870447132c2517c600000 0008a47304402205c2f0c685a005c98cc378f54419aacaa965708e51fe622bec96389dd3a4ca8d0 0220498aede1ed575a404717c3357eec80b249bfd65eb90ea3e22b5bcea12faa7fb0014104c87e8 2eeda25cd8546c636b7c2549a5ccfe4b3eb25290df989e13ae9192cf347a8e895ce452dca0cbb6b 3a4fa4aca593d0ebea800a1ac8443af317f3b797dcbeffffffff66e6a82dec1b7c344f000f9bc02 e4e3372cbee4207d2076d95a990f9780abd89010000008b4830450221008442bd2cd630b01cad72 6d22075afe047a4b805957d2bceb3d58b9dcfabec125022007df133b53b900c480da9de357a7d73 297a2dfcd1b6d19892f8f9d69997a250d0141045618440a6f417fb724cb7112b8213f5e30929e55 12045cebb2f7b8291e7901518374b31e3669fbeb514a309b72c9b2341d2cf1cd97174af1838209b b07b3b41affffffff0200c2eb0b000000001976a914451dd2dc37d7782760c728abbd1c42279fb4 bd1c88acc39d3200000000001976a914ab1fb59f5f3d346a0b82e39f16ec57afb311bbbd88ac000 00000


18:13:59

decoderawtransaction 0100000002a99dcc16468d4e370862d2b95f23a101a95aca9333341420870447132c2517c600000 0008a47304402205c2f0c685a005c98cc378f54419aacaa965708e51fe622bec96389dd3a4ca8d0 0220498aede1ed575a404717c3357eec80b249bfd65eb90ea3e22b5bcea12faa7fb0014104c87e8 2eeda25cd8546c636b7c2549a5ccfe4b3eb25290df989e13ae9192cf347a8e895ce452dca0cbb6b 3a4fa4aca593d0ebea800a1ac8443af317f3b797dcbeffffffff66e6a82dec1b7c344f000f9bc02 e4e3372cbee4207d2076d95a990f9780abd89010000008b4830450221008442bd2cd630b01cad72 6d22075afe047a4b805957d2bceb3d58b9dcfabec125022007df133b53b900c480da9de357a7d73 297a2dfcd1b6d19892f8f9d69997a250d0141045618440a6f417fb724cb7112b8213f5e30929e55 12045cebb2f7b8291e7901518374b31e3669fbeb514a309b72c9b2341d2cf1cd97174af1838209b b07b3b41affffffff0200c2eb0b000000001976a914451dd2dc37d7782760c728abbd1c42279fb4 bd1c88acc39d3200000000001976a914ab1fb59f5f3d346a0b82e39f16ec57afb311bbbd88ac000 00000


18:13:59

{
"txid" : "a752638db79143ab3cc23280125601193ee3e8b8fb272a52a6d6cffb82e2dc0e",
"version" : 1,
"locktime" : 0,
"vin" : [
{
"txid" : "c617252c134704872014343393ca5aa901a1235fb9d26208374e8d4616cc9da9",
"vout" : 0,
"scriptSig" : {
"asm" : "304402205c2f0c685a005c98cc378f54419aacaa965708e51fe622bec96389dd3a4ca8d00220498 aede1ed575a404717c3357eec80b249bfd65eb90ea3e22b5bcea12faa7fb001 04c87e82eeda25cd8546c636b7c2549a5ccfe4b3eb25290df989e13ae9192cf347a8e895ce452dc a0cbb6b3a4fa4aca593d0ebea800a1ac8443af317f3b797dcbe",
"hex" : "47304402205c2f0c685a005c98cc378f54419aacaa965708e51fe622bec96389dd3a4ca8d002204 98aede1ed575a404717c3357eec80b249bfd65eb90ea3e22b5bcea12faa7fb0014104c87e82eeda 25cd8546c636b7c2549a5ccfe4b3eb25290df989e13ae9192cf347a8e895ce452dca0cbb6b3a4fa 4aca593d0ebea800a1ac8443af317f3b797dcbe"
},
"sequence" : 4294967295
},
{
"txid" : "89bd0a78f990a9956d07d20742eecb72334e2ec09b0f004f347c1bec2da8e666",
"vout" : 1,
"scriptSig" : {
"asm" : "30450221008442bd2cd630b01cad726d22075afe047a4b805957d2bceb3d58b9dcfabec12502200 7df133b53b900c480da9de357a7d73297a2dfcd1b6d19892f8f9d69997a250d01 045618440a6f417fb724cb7112b8213f5e30929e5512045cebb2f7b8291e7901518374b31e3669f beb514a309b72c9b2341d2cf1cd97174af1838209bb07b3b41a",
"hex" : "4830450221008442bd2cd630b01cad726d22075afe047a4b805957d2bceb3d58b9dcfabec125022 007df133b53b900c480da9de357a7d73297a2dfcd1b6d19892f8f9d69997a250d0141045618440a 6f417fb724cb7112b8213f5e30929e5512045cebb2f7b8291e7901518374b31e3669fbeb514a309 b72c9b2341d2cf1cd97174af1838209bb07b3b41a"
},
"sequence" : 4294967295
}
],
"vout" : [
{
"value" : 2.00000000,
"n" : 0,
"scriptPubKey" : {
"asm" : "OP_DUP OP_HASH160 451dd2dc37d7782760c728abbd1c42279fb4bd1c OP_EQUALVERIFY OP_CHECKSIG",
"hex" : "76a914451dd2dc37d7782760c728abbd1c42279fb4bd1c88ac",
"reqSigs" : 1,
"type" : "pubkeyhash",
"addresses" : [
"17JTMRSdD2rWs1eSkFqZnXTKWKXLGQsVqY"
]
}
},
{
"value" : 0.03317187,
"n" : 1,
"scriptPubKey" : {
"asm" : "OP_DUP OP_HASH160 ab1fb59f5f3d346a0b82e39f16ec57afb311bbbd OP_EQUALVERIFY OP_CHECKSIG",
"hex" : "76a914ab1fb59f5f3d346a0b82e39f16ec57afb311bbbd88ac",
"reqSigs" : 1,
"type" : "pubkeyhash",
"addresses" : [
"1GbpY1ssJLPHmFYnNr7RhtYsYWNNM1ssvP"
]
}
}
]
}

[willnye]

So just to update: still no btc, still not a word of response from Coinbase to my case. I've sent multiple support tickets, I've emailed their support email address, and I have yet to have any of my efforts or my questions acknowledged at all. But I guess the good news is now that the price of btc has gone up, I'm actually out about $17 more than when I started!

The transfers in Coinbase still show 'pending' but the tx hash (9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115) for my transfer has disappeared off of blockchain.info. This experience has taught me a bunch about bitcoin in general, but if Coinbase is going to be a big player in connecting technically inept people and the bitcoin economy they need to up their game. Or at least respond to a customer who has just lost $340 into thin air.

[redbeans2012]

So just to update: still no btc, still not a word of response from Coinbase to my case. I've sent multiple support tickets, I've emailed their support email address, and I have yet to have any of my efforts or my questions acknowledged at all. But I guess the good news is now that the price of btc has gone up, I'm actually out about $17 more than when I started!

The transfers in Coinbase still show 'pending' but the tx hash (9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115) for my transfer has disappeared off of blockchain.info. This experience has taught me a bunch about bitcoin in general, but if Coinbase is going to be a big player in connecting technically inept people and the bitcoin economy they need to up their game. Or at least respond to a customer who has just lost $340 into thin air.

That sucks I will stop promoting them to my buddies until this is resolved.

[DannyHamilton]

So just to update: still no btc, still not a word of response from Coinbase to my case. I've sent multiple support tickets, I've emailed their support email address, and I have yet to have any of my efforts or my questions acknowledged at all. But I guess the good news is now that the price of btc has gone up, I'm actually out about $17 more than when I started!

The transfers in Coinbase still show 'pending' but the tx hash (9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115) for my transfer has disappeared off of blockchain.info. This experience has taught me a bunch about bitcoin in general, but if Coinbase is going to be a big player in connecting technically inept people and the bitcoin economy they need to up their game. Or at least respond to a customer who has just lost $340 into thin air.

Coinbase.com offered a 5 BTC bounty for a miner to confirm the original offending transactions.  It looks like your transaction has confirmed in block 221131.  Coinbase.com also claims that they have fixed their program to no longer use unconfirmed inputs in the transactions they send.

Note that CoinAd.com, which is who created the original 2 huge transactions with insufficient fee that have finally confirmed, had tried to double-spend the input from:
http://blockchain.info/tx/ccb75ea48acc40f249f445ab7b6913e6a805938c022fbc6c9dcbdc67e4cb8847

in the following transaction:
http://blockchain.info/tx/97825f2228c0087acf2b7edce81c79838931845c4b0595ed4088966ebdf9d633

Now that ccb75ea48acc40f249f445ab7b6913e6a805938c022fbc6c9dcbdc67e4cb8847 has confirmed, 97825f2228c0087acf2b7edce81c79838931845c4b0595ed4088966ebdf9d633 never will.

[ingrownpocket]

So just to update: still no btc, still not a word of response from Coinbase to my case. I've sent multiple support tickets, I've emailed their support email address, and I have yet to have any of my efforts or my questions acknowledged at all. But I guess the good news is now that the price of btc has gone up, I'm actually out about $17 more than when I started!

The transfers in Coinbase still show 'pending' but the tx hash (9eb202978e1653a0d3b1c936c2a07228055ce434c6c065c727336cfc0a74d115) for my transfer has disappeared off of blockchain.info. This experience has taught me a bunch about bitcoin in general, but if Coinbase is going to be a big player in connecting technically inept people and the bitcoin economy they need to up their game. Or at least respond to a customer who has just lost $340 into thin air.

Coinbase.com offered a 5 BTC bounty for a miner to confirm the original offending transactions.  It looks like your transaction has confirmed in block 221131.  Coinbase.com also claims that they have fixed their program to no longer use unconfirmed inputs in the transactions they send.

Note that CoinAd.com, which is who created the original 2 huge transactions with insufficient fee that have finally confirmed, had tried to unconsciously double-spend the input from:
http://blockchain.info/tx/ccb75ea48acc40f249f445ab7b6913e6a805938c022fbc6c9dcbdc67e4cb8847

in the following transaction:
http://blockchain.info/tx/97825f2228c0087acf2b7edce81c79838931845c4b0595ed4088966ebdf9d633

Now that ccb75ea48acc40f249f445ab7b6913e6a805938c022fbc6c9dcbdc67e4cb8847 has confirmed, 97825f2228c0087acf2b7edce81c79838931845c4b0595ed4088966ebdf9d633 never will.

[DannyHamilton]

- SNIP -
Note that CoinAd.com, which is who created the original 2 huge transactions with insufficient fee that have finally confirmed, had tried to unconsciously double-spend the input from:
http://blockchain.info/tx/ccb75ea48acc40f249f445ab7b6913e6a805938c022fbc6c9dcbdc67e4cb8847
 - SNIP -

If you are going to try to run a business, you need to make sure you know what you are doing.  Your business is responsible for its actions.  Ignorance is not a mitigating excuse.

Coinbase did not intentionally send out transactions that were likely to never confirm, but they recognized that it was their responsibility to make sure that their customers got paid.  So they offered a bounty for the confirmation of your mistake, and they fixed their program so they wouldn't use unconfirmed inputs in transactions again.

I see that the coinad.com website is till up and running.  Have you fixed your process to ensure that you don't send large transactions with small fees yet?  Have you fixed your process to ensure that you don't double spend any inputs again?

[Rothgar]

Whew, glad coinbase is making good, and improving their service.    

I should like Carlos L. to reconsider his business model and research suggested fees for the large(in bytes) transactions he does.  I would suggest that people use http://bitcoiner.net, there you can go back multiple days and not take a payout until it is larger.  This makes the fees on both sides more manageable.  

[ingrownpocket]

Coinbase did not intentionally send out transactions that were likely to never confirm, but they recognized that it was their responsibility to make sure that their customers got paid.  So they offered a bounty for the confirmation of your mistake, and they fixed their program so they wouldn't use unconfirmed inputs in transactions again.

I have emailed several pools when this problem occurred, and offered a bounty. The bounty was small, but it was something.

I see that the coinad.com website is till up and running.  Have you fixed your process to ensure that you don't send large transactions with small fees yet?  Have you fixed your process to ensure that you don't double spend any inputs again?

I said in a previous post that payments are suspended. It will remain like that until I find a way to prevent this.

Whew, glad coinbase is making good, and improving their service.    

I should like Carlos L. to reconsider his business model and research suggested fees for the large(in bytes) transactions he does.  I would suggest that people use http://bitcoiner.net, there you can go back multiple days and not take a payout until it is larger.  This makes the fees on both sides more manageable. 

I'm already working on it.

[Rothgar]

That's great news Carlos.   
I'm fairly certain that your market would prefer fewer larger payments instead of several smaller payments.  I like the solution of the website I cited.  A customer can have a balance build up and then request it to be sent at anytime.  After a request, payout is usually within 24 hours.  All the best Carlos.

[DannyHamilton]

- SNIP -
I said in a previous post that payments are suspended. It will remain like that until I find a way to prevent this.
 - SNIP -

Unfortunately I don't see any mention of this on the CoinAd web page.  I suspect that very soon you will have customers complaining that they've been using the site, but aren't getting paid.

[willnye]

I received my BTC. I would say major kudos to Coinbase for putting out a generous bounty to make things right. Major jeers to Coinbase for not having any customer service and for using unconfirmed transactions in their hot wallet. Apparently the second problem is fixed for the future.

I still don't know who's 'fault' this whole thing is, or if it's just a series of happy accidents. Thanks so much for all of your help and insight- esp DannyHamilton!

[DannyHamilton]

- SNIP -
I still don't know who's 'fault' this whole thing is
- SNIP -

There is plenty of "fault" to go around.  Just off the top of my head:

• blockchain.info could have done a better job of ensuring that users of their JSON RPC are aware of the fees they are including
• CoinAd.com could have written a better back end program that ensured that they used the proper fees
• Everyone in the chain of unconfirmed transactions could have made sure they were not using unconfirmed transactions as inputs
• Coinbase.com is one of those that could have made sure they were not using unconfirmed transactions as inputs
• Miners could use a forward looking algorithm to determine if a transaction should be included

[Valle]

I still see perfectly the same case - long chain of unconfirmed TXs and mine TX stuck too. Coinbase unable to fix it and cannot see what happened to MtGOX I guess.