Getting guaranteed transaction confirmation

[A1exander]

Hello,

I am using Electrum 2.9.2 as my primary BTC wallet. I rarely send transactions from it, but now I wold like to claim Bitcoin Cash and the first step is to send all bitcoins to a new wallet, as recommended. The problem is that I am very reluctant to send most of my BTC because of frequent confirmation problems. When I was migrating from the full Bitcoin client to Electrum (the blockchain size then was about 100GB and I decided that it was time to start using a lightweight client), I sent a transaction (fortunately with only part of my bitcoins) using the suggested fee. It never got a single confirmation. I waited about a week, then had to use some command line functions (I forgot the details) to make the client to forget about it (BTC did not return to the wallet automatically) and resend it.

I know that increasing the transaction fee increases confirmation probability, but Is there a way to determine how much is enough? Is the fee suggested by Electrum reliable? Can I rely upon the information provided at https://bitcoinfees.21.co/? Should I wait until the mempool (https://blockchain.info/ru/charts/mempool-size) is almost empty? Does it make sense to wait until the Segwit activation? I really do not want my coins to became stuck in an unconfirmed transaction for an indefinite amount of time.

[1715679651]

1715679651

[1715679651]

1715679651

[ranochigo]

I rarely send transactions from it, but now I wold like to claim Bitcoin Cash and the first step is to send all bitcoins to a new wallet, as recommended. The problem is that I am very reluctant to send most of my BTC because of frequent confirmation problems. When I was migrating from the full Bitcoin client to Electrum (the blockchain size then was about 100GB and I decided that it was time to start using a lightweight client), I sent a transaction (fortunately with only part of my bitcoins) using the suggested fee. It never got a single confirmation. I waited about a week, then had to use some command line functions (I forgot the details) to make the client to forget about it (BTC did not return to the wallet automatically) and resend it.

It shouldn't happen. The only reason for it to happen is either the miners don't like you (unlikely) or you messed up the fee or the propagation was bad. If you ever face this problem again, PM me and I'll help, if you paid a fair amount of fee.

but Is there a way to determine how much is enough? Is the fee suggested by Electrum reliable? Can I rely upon the information provided at https://bitcoinfees.21.co/?

The dynamic fee provided by Electrum is usually enough. I never had a problem with using it till now. The site does give fairly accurate information. Its important to note that your mileage may vary, depending on factors such as the amount of transactions sent from the time the previous block was mined and the next block.

Should I wait until the mempool (https://blockchain.info/ru/charts/mempool-size) is almost empty?

No. The mempool size is not a fair representation of the actual network load. When blocks are found in succession, the client would display a very low fee since the mempool is quite empty.

Does it make sense to wait until the Segwit activation? I really do not want my coins to became stuck in an unconfirmed transaction for an indefinite amount of time.

No. Segwit guarantee low fee nor the time your transaction would get confirmed.

[A1exander]

It shouldn't happen. The only reason for it to happen is either the miners don't like you (unlikely) or you messed up the fee or the propagation was bad. If you ever face this problem again, PM me and I'll help, if you paid a fair amount of fee.

Thank you for the answer. It was about a year ago. It seems that during summer of 2016 many people experienced something like this.

The dynamic fee provided by Electrum is usually enough. I never had a problem with using it till now. The site does give fairly accurate information. Its important to note that your mileage may vary, depending on factors such as the amount of transactions sent from the time the previous block was mined and the next block.

All right, I will compare them and probably choose the largest of the two, maybe a bit larger. Although the fees are high, I do not mind paying slightly more, because relative to such a transaction they are still very small.

[HCP]

Honestly... fees are nowhere near as bad as they were a month or two ago when there was like 150K unconfirmed transactions... there are currently only 10-15K unconfirmed transactions in the mempool... the VAST majority of these are right at the bottom of the fee scale: https://btc.com/stats/unconfirmed-tx

Most transactions are paying less than 20-40 sats/byte fee... theoretically, any fee higher than that should get you in a block relatively quickly.

bitcoinfees.21.co isn't as relevant as it was when the mempool was flooded and "average" fees were like 350+ sats/byte... but it is still useful info... Electrum's dynamic fees might be a little higher as it seems to err on the side of caution.

[A1exander]

I have send a transaction with the maximum fee selected in Electrum, about 150 sat/byte, more than mentioned here: https://btc.com/stats/unconfirmed-tx. No confirmations within half an hour. What is really bad that the newest version of Electrum (2.9.2) does not allow to enter a larger fee manually. What should I do? I would gladly pay more to GUARANTEE a confirmation.

[A1exander]

Electrum's dynamic fees might be a little higher as it seems to err on the side of caution.

Actually even the highest setting seems to be not high enough.

[ranochigo]

I have send a transaction with the maximum fee selected in Electrum, about 150 sat/byte, more than mentioned here: https://btc.com/stats/unconfirmed-tx. No confirmations within half an hour. What is really bad that the newest version of Electrum (2.9.2) does not allow to enter a larger fee manually. What should I do? I would gladly pay more to GUARANTEE a confirmation.

The problem just now wasn't related to your fee. In fact, I just had a transaction with >25 satoshis/byte and it went through fine

There wasn't any blocks mined in that half hour you've waited. If theres no blocks mined, no one on the network can get any confirmation.

[A1exander]

There wasn't any blocks mined in that half hour you've waited. If theres no blocks mined, no one on the network can get any confirmation.

I see. Yes, I understand the mechanics. The transaction finally got a few confirmations, several in a row.

[HCP]

... What is really bad that the newest version of Electrum (2.9.2) does not allow to enter a larger fee manually...

Are you sure about that?

The "edit fees manually" option is still available in the preferences... and the text box still shows on the "send" tab... so you can easily override whatever the dynamic fee calculator comes up with


Note: if you're going to mess about with the fee manually, I highly recommend use of the "Preview" button to make sure you've got your calculation correct and that the transaction size and fee rate are as you expect them to be before you send your transaction.

[A1exander]

The "edit fees manually" option is still available in the preferences...

Thanks, I've found it. I was using version 1.9.8 for some time, so I became used to the manual fee editor directly in the sending window.

Note: if you're going to mess about with the fee manually, I highly recommend use of the "Preview" button to make sure you've got your calculation correct and that the transaction size and fee rate are as you expect them to be before you send your transaction.

I've used the preview in case of automatic calculation too, as it seems to be the only way to know the exact size of the transaction and to calculate the fee in satoshi per byte.

[buwaytress]

I've used the preview in case of automatic calculation too, as it seems to be the only way to know the exact size of the transaction and to calculate the fee in satoshi per byte.

I'm not sure if this works ALL the time but it has for me, for several Electrum versions back.

I have always set the Max Static Fee in satoshi per byte after checking with bitcoinfees.21.co (I know HCP says it is less helpful now but it's always been spot on for me up til now). I usually add a few satoshi per byte on top of what I would prefer.

I leave the Manual Edit and Dynamic Fee boxes unchecked. The transactions have always used the amount I specify, (slightly above by 0.1 sometimes), automatically calculated, so I guess the Max Static Fee option is easiest option to send the right fee. Dynamic isn't very accurate and Manual is too error-prone.

[A1exander]

I'm not sure if this works ALL the time but it has for me, for several Electrum versions back.

I have always set the Max Static Fee in satoshi per byte after checking with bitcoinfees.21.co (I know HCP says it is less helpful now but it's always been spot on for me up til now). I usually add a few satoshi per byte on top of what I would prefer.

I leave the Manual Edit and Dynamic Fee boxes unchecked. The transactions have always used the amount I specify, (slightly above by 0.1 sometimes), automatically calculated, so I guess the Max Static Fee option is easiest option to send the right fee. Dynamic isn't very accurate and Manual is too error-prone.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will probably try it when I need to send the next transaction, but now I have successfully transferred all I needed.

[Wipro]

... What is really bad that the newest version of Electrum (2.9.2) does not allow to enter a larger fee manually...

Are you sure about that?

The "edit fees manually" option is still available in the preferences... and the text box still shows on the "send" tab... so you can easily override whatever the dynamic fee calculator comes up with


Note: if you're going to mess about with the fee manually, I highly recommend use of the "Preview" button to make sure you've got your calculation correct and that the transaction size and fee rate are as you expect them to be before you send your transaction.

It seems informative to me bro. I am using Coinbase wallet. I know this online wallet. Is there any option to edit the fees to 0.0001 or 0.0002. When I trying to transfer the bitcoin I have in my wallet. It asks to 0.00044 btc as fees. If that get reduced I will be more comfortable.

[tigervn]

 
The current transaction is quite fast ... due to the update coin is often ...
Every transaction can be much faster.

[jjshabadoo]

Well, i use blockchain for most payments i realize, so when you send bitcoins you have two options "normal payment" and "fast payment" i use normal payment and the transaction got the first confirmation usually at ten minutes. It is faster now because of the fork.
If you select fast payment i think it is gonna have the first confirmation in about 4-7 minutes.
17/sat per bit

[HCP]

It seems informative to me bro. I am using Coinbase wallet. I know this online wallet. Is there any option to edit the fees to 0.0001 or 0.0002. When I trying to transfer the bitcoin I have in my wallet. It asks to 0.00044 btc as fees. If that get reduced I will be more comfortable.

Sorry, I can't help with Coinbase... I've never used it. Looking at this page: https://support.coinbase.com/customer/en/portal/articles/815435-does-coinbase-pay-bitcoin-miner-fees-

it seems that they use some sort of preset fee that is dynamically calculated. I see no reference to being able to manually adjust fees.

I suggest you contact Coinbase support for more info