Author: Pieter Wuille 2015-05-09 20:38:56
Published on: 2015-05-09T20:38:56+00:00
Miners do not normally consider the age of an unspent transaction output (UTXO) entry, except for two specific cases. The first is a free transaction policy that reserves a portion of block space for transactions that don't pay sufficient fees as a way to encourage Bitcoin adoption. However, these transactions must have a priority level determined by BTC-days-destroyed per byte. The second case applies only to coinbase transaction outputs, which cannot be spent until 100 confirmations after being added to the blockchain. This rule prevents random reorganizations from invalidating transactions that spend young coinbase transactions. Raystonn suggested modifying the free transaction policy to select UTXOs based on how many are available at each address and their age instead of just their age. Jim Phillips expressed concern about this change since selecting older UTXOs would give a higher priority for a lesser fee, potentially undermining privacy and reducing the number of UTXOs. Raystonn argued that the amount spent should be removed as a factor in the policy, or users who can't afford high fees will never pay them. He also questioned why miners care about the age of a UTXO when determining what fees to charge.
Updated on: 2023-05-19T20:19:52.590906+00:00