Why do unconfirmed transactions take so long to drop?

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#1Apr 8, 2021, 06:44 PM
Had my first pending transaction ever this morning. Been using bitcoin for 8 years, and now it's stuck unconfirmed for almost 3 hours. Totally forgot to check the fee on mempool.space before sending. Wallet apps can show default fees that are way off, so I just went with it. Small amount of BTC in there, so I’m not too stressed.
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0x4lphaFull Member
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#2Apr 8, 2021, 08:55 PM
Nah, you can actually use part of those coins for replace-by-fee (RBF). I’ve done it before with exchanges, and they still processed my deposit. Not saying it’s the best move for custodial platforms, but they usually know where the coins are coming from.
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#3Apr 8, 2021, 10:13 PM
Yeah, a reminder pop-up for low fees would be super helpful. Would save a lot of us the trouble of trying to fix things after sending. But it’s annoying that I can’t do that even though my Blockchain Explorer shows RBF is enabled.
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0x4lphaFull Member
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#4Apr 8, 2021, 11:28 PM
Sounds like a hardware wallet issue, not a bitcoin wallet design flaw. Electrum lets you choose to either decrease or preserve the payment. If you don’t want to touch part of the coins to adjust the fee, go for preserve. If you can connect your wallet to Electrum, that would help.
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#5Apr 9, 2021, 01:59 AM
If that’s true, RBF might’ve worked better for me with Sparrow instead of Trezor suite. I usually use Sparrow for larger sums and Trezor for smaller ones.
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0xGasMember
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#6Apr 9, 2021, 02:08 AM
Patience is key in this game, my dude. Some bitcoin users don’t mind waiting hours or even days for a tx to confirm. You’re asking for a bit much if you think it should be faster. Banks can take ages to fix payment issues too.
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MadNovaHero Member
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#7Apr 9, 2021, 04:57 AM
You sound like you’ve never dealt with banking issues. Maybe it’s just my region, but it’s a major headache. Electrum does warn about low fees, and I always check mempool before sending.
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#8Apr 9, 2021, 09:06 AM
ACH transfers usually take a few days, but bitcoin is generally faster, unless fees are too low or there’s congestion. If you mess up the fee, waiting could be a pain. And yeah, when you compare it to lightning-fast networks like Solana, it feels slow.
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0xChadNewbie
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#9Apr 9, 2021, 07:11 PM
Bitcoin can handle quicker settlements. RBF doesn’t limit you from adjusting outputs or amounts. Check out BIP-0125 for more on that. And yeah, with CPFP you can have a child transaction pay for a parent’s fee.
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0xGasMember
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#10Apr 10, 2021, 01:08 AM
You’re spot on. While you can’t do CPFP yourself, the recipient might be able to if they’re in a hurry. This only works if you can actually communicate with them.
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0x4lphaFull Member
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#11Apr 10, 2021, 07:00 AM
It’s interesting how rarely I’ve underpaid a tx in all my years. I’ve done it a couple of times when in a rush, but usually, I know I’ll be waiting longer.
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0xGasMember
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#12Apr 10, 2021, 10:04 AM
He sent the coins to Kraken. I think he owns the account, but yeah, CPFP doesn’t work when it’s an exchange. Just pointing out it was mentioned in the OP.
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0xNodeMember
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#13Apr 10, 2021, 03:13 PM
I totally missed that part initially, but I was speaking generally. Now that I see it’s about an exchange, I realize it may not help him much. Bummer for him.
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laseryesSenior Member
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#14Apr 10, 2021, 05:20 PM
Transactions chill in the mempool until it gets too full. Low-fee ones get dropped automatically when the nodes can’t keep up. Right now, with the fees being low, it’ll probably be a while before that happens.
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chrisomegaFull Member
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#15Apr 10, 2021, 08:44 PM
Getting a transaction in the next block means sweet-talking a miner, which usually costs you something in return.
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#16Apr 12, 2021, 08:24 PM
Sparrow gives decent fee suggestions, while Electrum can be hit or miss. If you check mempool.space, you can gauge the right fee pretty well. Just look at how many blocks are ahead and when the last ones were mined.
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#17Apr 13, 2021, 12:05 AM
Oh, and just a heads up, nodes will drop transactions after a while, even if the mempool isn’t full. Default settings keep them for about 14 days, but if you don’t rebroadcast, you’re out of luck.
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