Transaction stuck for several months due to low fees

[KingsizeBlues]

Hi all

I have tried searching for this answer, but I couldn't find a clear solution to my problem, so I decided to make a post.

Around the time of the recent halvening, I paid a friend for some BTC. They use Electrum wallet, I do not. Neither of us have ever used Electrum wallet to send coins, they have only used it to receive BTC. They asked me what level of fees to set - foolishly, I said as low as possible. My wallet does not allow a choice of fees.

At the time, I did not understand that would mean no miners would process the transaction. I know that, technically, one day the fees could come down low enough for it to send. However in the meantime those coins are effectively unavailable to either me or my friend.

From the research I have done, it seems that the only solution for me to receive my coins is to make a new transaction with a higher fee. However, that does not return the stuck coins to my friend's wallet. As far as I can tell, those coins are now in limbo somewhere, leaving either them or me out of pocket. They are not prepared to send more coins without a clear explanation of how to get the first transaction cancelled (fair enough, it is a large amount of money at stake for both of us).

Is there a way to cancel this stuck transaction? Or I guess, how do we "unstick" those coins?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Apocollapse]

Correct, that solution is called Child pays for parent (CPFP).

Which wallet you use? if your transaction support RBF, you can bump it using wallet that support it e.g. Electrum. Copy paste the TXID on mempool.space to know it.



There's no way to cancel Bitcoin transaction, it's either your friends make new transaction with higher fee, use third party acceleration service, or wait till the mempool empty.

If the size of your transaction is below ≤0.5 KB and the fee you paid ≥ 0.0001 BTC/KB you can use viabtc free accerelation https://www.viabtc.com/tools/txaccelerator

[promise444c5]

Correct, that solution is called Child pays for parent (CPFP).

There's no way to cancel Bitcoin transaction, it's either your friends make new transaction with higher fee, use third party acceleration service, or wait till the mempool empty.

Double-spend  can invalidate the transaction , since the friend did the transaction then they could just Double-spend it back to the friends wallet.

Is there a way to cancel this stuck transaction? Or I guess, how do we "unstick" those coins?

You can cancel a transaction on Electrum (not really cancel but) in such a way that you will be spending back to the initiator wallet, which means a new transaction spending same input is done to invalidate the stucked one(you will only pay high fee).

[Darker45]

I'm a bit confused. You paid your friend some BTC. Your friend uses Electrum while you don't. Your wallet doesn't allow personalized fees. How, then, did it end up that a very low fee was paid? Also, how did it end up that you're the one paying and yet your friend was the one asking the level of fee? And you answered the lowest. It doesn't seem coherent.

Anyway, if your friend is really the initiator of this transaction and he/she uses Electrum, he/she can resend it but with a higher fee. Electrum supports RBF. Your friend shouldn't worry about sending more coins. RBF isn't sending more coins. It is basically just sending the same input, the same money. With a higher fee, miners would prioritize it thereby cancelling the earlier transaction.

[mocacinno]

As far as i remember, electrum does not rebroadcast transactions... A transaction stuck for several months is rare, it should have been pruned from the mempool of allmost every node by now, unless somebody keeps rebroadcasting it. Are you sure your friend isn't seeing this transaction as a "local" transaction?

The other members gave some good advice, but maybe it's a good idear to share the transaction id (unless it violates your privacy to much). That way, we can verify if it was opt-in rbf (it probably was), if there's change (so your friend can do a CPFP) or not (so you'll have to do an CPFP), what the fee was (so we can see if viabtc is an option).

[SilverCryptoBullet]

Which wallet you use? if your transaction support RBF, you can bump it using wallet that support it e.g. Electrum.

If the transaction is not RBF opt-in originally, there is a complicated procedure to replace an unconfirmed non-RBF transaction to Bitcoin nodes that has Full RBF enabled, and hope that Bitcoin miners will confirm it for you.

Turn non-RBF transaction to RBF enabled?

[Hatchy]

I'm a bit confused. You paid your friend some BTC. Your friend uses Electrum while you don't. Your wallet doesn't allow personalized fees. How, then, did it end up that a very low fee was paid? Also, how did it end up that you're the one paying and yet your friend was the one asking the level of fee? And you answered the lowest. It doesn't seem coherent.

I still tried to understand that part of ops story but haven't gotten it yet. I just find his story unbelievable. His question is valid though but the story op is trying to tell seems to me a fabricated one. If we remember closely, during the time of recent halving the transaction fees were extremely high, probably the highest we've seen. And for someone to broadcast a transaction and get confirmed back then would mean that he already knew what level of fee he will have to use.  Ops story just mixed up so many things I still don't want to believe here. He ask his friend to send BTC and told him to use the lowest of fees that they should wait for it, that it will be confirmed one day   And if his friend is the one sending the coins why ask him the level of fee to use??

[Amphenomenon]

The other members gave some good advice, but maybe it's a good idear to share the transaction id (unless it violates your privacy to much). That way, we can verify if it was opt-in rbf (it probably was), if there's change (so your friend can do a CPFP) or not (so you'll have to do an CPFP), what the fee was (so we can see if viabtc is an option).

This is most feasible way for we to come up with a straight solution.
 while Op if you still think  it will violate your privacy, I would advise sharing the Tx through pm with mocacinno since he is really knowledgeable about bitcoin technicals and reputable here, since I guessed  the amount is large base on your post

[promise444c5]

If the transaction is not RBF opt-in originally, there is a complicated procedure to replace an unconfirmed non-RBF transaction to Bitcoin nodes that has Full RBF enabled, and hope that Bitcoin miners will confirm it for you.

OP said he was trying to buy some BTC during the halving period and for sure fee should be high then...  and he said his friend used electrum which means it should definitely be RBFed , but at the end I don't seem to get his story any longer ,he got a stucked transaction and maybe they tried CPFP ....  yet they still have a stuck transaction (I don't know how that happened) so it will be best if he just provide a txid to really know what's happening ( if OP really haven't been scammed by his friend), he shouldn't be the one stressing but the sender although it's his money...

[Charles-Tim]

If you are not concerned about privacy, you need to let us know the txid just as mocacinno posted already. If Electrum wallet is used, the transaction would have been dropped from mempool and the sender will be able to rebroadcast the coins again in a new transaction.

[Findingnemo]

If you are not concerned about privacy, you need to let us know the txid just as mocacinno posted already. If Electrum wallet is used, the transaction would have been dropped from mempool and the sender will be able to rebroadcast the coins again in a new transaction.

OP provided lot of incorrect information or he just made up this story.

Cause every transaction created using electrum is RBF enabled default and this update rolled over for a while at least prior to the halving if I am not wrong.

Electrum also allows bump fee which is very simple so if OP found himself in a situation that stuck for month he simply can jump bumped it or use CPFP if the receiving end is also non custodial wallet.

Finally TX will likely to be purged in two weeks if it's not rebroadcasted and in electrum, it doesn't rebroadcast TX on it's own again.

[Gallar]

~Snip

Is there a way to cancel this stuck transaction? Or I guess, how do we "unstick" those coins?

Thanks in advance for your help.

As has been explained by several members here, to overcome stuck bitcoin transactions you can use the RBF technique or use the double spending technique by increasing fees. Usually, by using this method, bitcoin transactions that experience congestion can definitely be resolved. But I would like to know what sats fees you use in those bitcoin transactions. Because if a transaction is carried out with a minimum fee of 4 or 5 sats, it is now definitely confirmed. Because bitcoin transaction fees have now fallen back to 4 to 5 sat. However, if the Bitcoin transaction fee you make is less than 4 sats, of course it cannot be confirmed at this time. So you can use the two methods above to complete this transaction. However, according to my personal experience, when making a bitcoin transaction and the transaction gets stuck because the fees are low, and the transaction is not tricked by RBF or double spending, usually the transacted bitcoin will return to the wallet. Because I've experienced it, if I'm not mistaken it takes 3 to 7 days for a bitcoin transaction to automatically fail. So, is your bitcoin transaction more than a week old or not? If not, you can wait up to a week, because usually the bitcoins you send can come back. However, if your bitcoin transaction has been going on for more than a week, you should try RBF first.

[dkbit98]

Is there a way to cancel this stuck transaction? Or I guess, how do we "unstick" those coins?

You need to provide more information about your transaction, what wallet you used and how much fees was used for this transaction.
There is no way to cancel transaction but maybe you can use RBF replace-by-fee to bump it up.
Current fees are fairly low around 5 sat/vB so you won't have to pay much for this.

PS
In future always check mempool.space website for fees before making any transaction, and use better wallets like Electrum.

[tabas]

Is there a way to cancel this stuck transaction?

Transactions are irreversible and there's no way to cancel it but when you don't hit the recommended fees required by the network, it won't get any confirmation and the miners won't include it in the block so, it means that it will be dropped by the network.

Or I guess, how do we "unstick" those coins?

Drop is the term but just as explained by most, there's one solution to it if you take back and read each suggestion. Another one is to find a miner to confirm it for you but it will cost you some money. And by that, I mean what you've said is that you paid for the lowest which I guess is 1 sat/vB? one other hope is if the fees goes down to that point.

[Porfirii]

As far as i remember, electrum does not rebroadcast transactions... A transaction stuck for several months is rare, it should have been pruned from the mempool of allmost every node by now, unless somebody keeps rebroadcasting it. Are you sure your friend isn't seeing this transaction as a "local" transaction?

The other members gave some good advice, but maybe it's a good idear to share the transaction id (unless it violates your privacy to much). That way, we can verify if it was opt-in rbf (it probably was), if there's change (so your friend can do a CPFP) or not (so you'll have to do an CPFP), what the fee was (so we can see if viabtc is an option).

That's it. Even with very low fees, transactions usually get confirmed sooner or later, that's why the title of this topic raised my attention too.

OP, you have been given several possible explanations to the cause of your problem, and proposals to solve it. Can you tell us what you think and if you solved it already? Or share more info, as dkbit98 said. You raised my curiosity.

[khaled0111]

I know that, technically, one day the fees could come down low enough for it to send.

Not necessarily. If the transaction is paying a very low fee and it has been stuck for too long, then there is a possibility it gets purged first.
Anyway, Electrum recent versions support rbf by default. So, if he transaction appears as unconfirmed in your friend's wallet then all he has to do is to right click on it and choose/
 - Increase Fee if he still wants to send you the coins. This will create a new transaction with the same outputs but paying higher fees.
 - Cancel (double-pend) if he wants to cancel the transaction and get the coins back to his wallet. This will create a new transaction paying higher fees, but instead of sending the coins to your address, it will send them back to your friend's wallet.

If the transaction appears as confirmed but you didn't receive the coins then you need to verify if they were sent to the right address.

[KingsizeBlues]

Hi all, thank you for all of the responses. I am currently abroad and it's difficult for me to contact my friend and to reply here, so thanks for your patience.

My friend asked what fees to set because they've never sent BTC via their wallet, only received. They're hodling because they believe the asset has value in the future, but they're not a maxi or anything, so they only have a very basic understanding of BTC.

They buy BTC occasionally, and then just store it in their wallet. I came into some money, and they wanted to sell a bit to rebalance their assets across their portfolio. So, we decided to help each other out.

I said set the fee as low as possible because I'm a cheapskate. I didn't consider the fact that it could cause this problem. To be honest, I know a little more than my friend, but I'm not expert either, which is why I personally use a user-friendly wallet instead of a more secure wallet like Electrum. I probably pay more in fees than the average Electrum user, but I've never had this problem, so from my point of view I'm fine paying that little bit extra and not being able to set the fee amount when sending from my wallet.

It was only after the transaction didn't appear in my wallet after a week that I started to worry. That was in April! Trying to explain to my friend how to sort it out when we're in different timezones and neither of us being clued up on Electrum has proved complicated. I've asked them to look at your responses to see if we can answer some of your questions, because I have no idea what version they're using (or frankly what the Electrum UI even looks like). They said they will look soon and get back to me.

Once more, I appreciate your help and patience, and I will try to give a better response soon.

[Helena Yu]

I said set the fee as low as possible because I'm a cheapskate. I didn't consider the fact that it could cause this problem.

Probably your friend use 1sat/byte? that's why the transaction still not confirmed yet, because the current fee is 3sat/byte, it's already low compared to the last few months. If Electrum is hard to understand, use Bluewallet instead.

I probably pay more in fees than the average Electrum user, but I've never had this problem

Probably, but Electrum user can pay overpaid fees too because during I'm making a transaction, the default wee was 20sat/byte, while the reality I only need to pay like 6sat/byte to being included into the next block.

[mocacinno]

After re-reading this thread, i did wanted to add one more thing to put your mind a little bit at ease:
As long as your friend is a "real" friend, one you've known for a long time, you know where he lives, where he works, you know his relatives,... there isn't a "real" problem... Unspent outputs don't just disappear into thin air. Either the transaction generated by your friend eventually gets confirmed, or (if he stops broadcasting it), it'll sooner or later be forgotten by most of the network. If it gets confirmed: fine, everything is as expected... If it eventually gets forgotten: also fine, it'll be like nothing happened, and your friend can re-create the transaction.

There are some pitfalls, but none of them are a disaster as long as you stay friends... For example, if the transaction is forgotten by most of the network and your friend re-sends the funds but does not use the same unspent outputs to create the new transaction (and those unspent outputs remained untouched in his wallet), there is a (very, very) small chance some node might still have the original transaction and there's a (very, very) small chance you'll receive the money twice. But as long as you remain friends, you can just refund the duplicate money.

[nc50lc]

I paid a friend for some BTC. They use Electrum wallet, I do not.
-snip-
At the time, I did not understand that would mean no miners would process the transaction. I know that, technically, one day the fees could come down low enough for it to send. However in the meantime those coins are effectively unavailable to either me or my friend.

Since your "friend" is the sender, using Electrum and it's been 3 months already;
It's should be easy to make the coins available to his end since it should've been dropped by mempools, specifically his Electrum's server's mempool.

He just need to find the transaction in his 'History' tab (must be now a "Local" transaction).
Removing that (with "right-click->Remove") will enable him to spend the inputs that it tried to spend again in a new transaction.

Now, in the slightest chance that it's still "Unconfirmed", he can always use rbf (right-click->Increase fee) since Electrum always set its transactions opt-in rbf 'true' by default.

But in a scenario that he can't find it in his 'History' tab (not 'Send' tab): he either haven't finalized it in the send tab or already deleted the local transaction.
Non-broadcasted/non-finalized transactions has invoice in the 'Send' tab showing "! Unpaid" status.