What is the use of this memo in Bitcoin wallet?

[5W-KILO]

I have been seeing this alot of times in my unstoppable wallet and I've always skipped it.
I don't know what's that supposed to do



Do people actually use that memo space for something?
Is this a way of leaving a message on transactions?

If I view a transaction with memo on a BTC explorer what will appear?
Any difference to a completed transaction without memo?

[OsaiEmma]

I have been seeing this alot of times in my unstoppable wallet and I've always skipped it.
I don't know what's that supposed to do

It doesn't do much, the memo in unstoppable is off-chain for Bitcoin transactions I think, so it is stored in a local DB of your phone.

Do people actually use that memo space for something?

It's honestly not that important in the case of Bitcoin, but there are some coins--like XRP, ton etc--that require it, especially if you're sending to a centralized exchange.

Is this a way of leaving a message on transactions?

Yeah, it gives a brief description on the transaction especially if the coin requires it.

If I view a transaction with memo on a BTC explorer what will appear?
Any difference to a completed transaction without memo?

Well, it depends. If the memo is on-chain, then you certainly can: it was sent through OP_RETURN; but if it is off-chain, I don't think it can be viewed in an explorer.

[OmegaStarScream]

You can see it through a block explorer as mentioned above (this is not the same thing as label used in wallets like electrum and sparrow which is a local text stored on your device). Mempool.space show these messages and no, it doesn't matter if you don't use a memo when making a transaction, most people doesn't.

[Cookdata]

Bitcoin wallets within Unstoppable received substantial enhancements:

users are now able to speed up / cancel pending Bitcoin transactions.

advanced and/or privacy-conscious users have the ability to control which Bitcoin UTXOs are used for transactions.

users are now able to view previously used addresses for incoming Bitcoin payments.

finally, there is an option to add public on-chain notes (memos) to outgoing Bitcoin payments.

The abovementioned improvements also apply to other Bitcoin-like blockchains i.e. Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.

At first I thought it was label for transaction until I checked Unstoppable thread and this is a feature is for public onchain notes release in version 0.38.0

You don't have to use it for transaction.

[nc50lc]

Do people actually use that memo space for something?

Unless the recipient specifically instructed you to fill that up, don't bother with that option.
It'll add unnecessary bytes, so a few more fees to your transaction depending on its length and the coin's blockchain.

Here's an example screenshot of an Exchange (Binance) asking for a Memo:


-update-

And here's sample Bitcoin transaction made with Unstoppable Wallet with Memo: "3117".
It's added as an OP_RETURN output adding unnecessary size to the transaction.

Transaction: 47bd9bd31c94f664e61311ede90dc60d0778ec59434ac656781207efa89e2d0e