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User Error Sees Bitcoin Mining Pool Earn $135,000 as Fee

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:48 PM
Samburaj Das
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:48 PM

A bitcoin transaction of 291.241 BTC saw a fee of 291.2409 BTC, making it an entirely generous fee from the user toward the miner or, more likely, a huge error on the user’s part.

Eagle-eyed bitcoin enthusiasts spotted a notably large transaction on the blockchain, one which stood out due to its miner’s fee.

First shared on Twitter, the transaction  saw 291.241 BTC (approx $136,000) processed as a part of block 409,008 on the bitcon blockchain, with a fee of 291.2409 BTC. The transfer did not go to the intended recipient of the transaction but went to the miner instead.

Mining pool BitClub has been revealed  to be the miner of the block which gained the significant fee due to the user error.

Private blockchain consortium R3’s Director of Market Research, Tim Swanson weighed in on the subject, noting that BitClub isn’t obligated to return the fee. The plausibility of such errors, he reasons, is why terms of conditions and user agreements exist.

Most modern bitcoin wallets and payment processors automatically calculate a viable fee as per the transaction. Quite simply, it would be a hard feat to accidentally send nearly 300 bitcoins as a fee, which raises the possibility that the sender used an antiquated means for making the transfer. At this point, however, it is mere speculation.

On its website, BitClub states that it operates two mining locations, one of which is open to the public as a facility in Iceland. As a mining pool, BitClub is likely to bring in computing power and hardware efficiency contributed by users around the world who are paid in dividends by the mining service.

It is yet unknown if the user has reached out to BitClub to seek a return of the erroneous transaction.

CCN.com has reached out to BitClub for comment and will update this article when we hear back.

Featured image from Shutterstock.