I have the private keys to several outputs in the 0.01 — 0.1 BTC range. This kind of amount is quickly approaching dust level (
https://bitcoinfees.earn.com/ currently recommends ~0.001 BTC for a standard transaction). Suppose I'm not at all in a hurry, what is the best strategy to avoid the outputs to become effectively unspendable in the future?
- Combine them all in a single output?
- Since I'm not in a hurry, I could use a very small transaction fee, say one that gives the transaction a ~10 % chance of getting mined. If it doesn't get through, I can simply resend it.
- I read somewhere that transactions stay in the mempool for 72 hours. Is that correct?
- Do nothing and just wait?
- The lightning network should make sending bitcoins cheaper. But that per se doesn't help in this case as the small outputs are still there at a fundamental level.
- However, if the lightning network reduces the number of actual bitcoin transactions, they should become cheaper.
- The transaction costs may not go up much higher because only holders of larger assets would be willing to pay the fees, leading to an equilibrium.
- Something else?
You should combine them all together, and then try to have atleast 5sat/b, and try to get it confirmed by adding it into mining pool accelerators such as
http://confirmtx.com.
Transactions usually stay in the mempool depending on how long you keep broadcasting them. If you don't stop broadcasting it, it won't disappear.